Kericho magistrate and court clerk arrested by EACC detectives for allegedly taking bribe

KENYA: Kericho Resident Magistrate Judith Achieng Nyagol and a court clerk Robert Cheruiyot were arrested in a sting operation conducted at the court premises by the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives.

Sh10,000 treated notes in Sh1, 000 denomination was recovered from the clerk's pockets while an unknown amount was recovered from the magistrate's purse and desk at her chambers after she briefly escaped the officers' dragnet.

Hon Nyagol was later arrested by the EACC sleuths from Nairobi within the town and taken to Kericho police station for interrogation which lasted for several hours.
County Police Commander Rose Muchuma confirmed the incident which sent shockwaves through the court corridors.

"The magistrate and the clerk were arrested by the premises by the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) officers, the clerk was found with Sh10,000. The amount which was recovered from the magistrate's chambers is not yet known, investigations are still on going over the matter," said Muchuma.

Hon Nyagol and Cheruiyot are expected to be arraigned before the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC) court in Nakuru on Tuesday to answer to corruption charges.

The two were arrested for allegedly receiving the money as a bribe from a businessman who had been arraigned before the magistrate for allegedly operating a bar at Brooke trading centre without a licence.

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The magistrate was expected to give her ruling on the case and the businessman hoped to receive favourable ruling through enticing the court officers with money.

However, unbeknown to the magistrate and the clerk, the accused had allegedly contacted the EACC officers who conducted a week investigation before finally laying the trap which netted the two Friday morning.

The incident came in the wake of Members of County Assembly (MCAs) petition to Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to investigate several magistrates at the Kericho Law Courts, whom they claimed had been compromised by dealers of illicit brews to relax and be complacent in the war against the killer brews.

Kipchebor ward MCA Joel Siele and Mary Mabeche accused the judiciary of abetting the fight against illicit brews by slapping small fines and prison sentences on those found guilty of engaging in the killer industry.

"The war against the second generation alcohol will never be won if every time offenders are taken to court they are hit with fines of as low as Sh500 or released on cash bails," said Siele.

He decried that many residential estates in Kericho, among them Majengo, Nyagacho and Motobo had been adversely affected by the vice, though he was quick to insist that most of the drinks were sourced from outside Kericho County.