DP Gachagua To Petition JSC For Removal Of Justice Esther Maina Over Alleged Misconduct

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said Sunday he will present a petition for the removal of High Court Judge Justice Esther Maina before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for alleged misconduct and corruption.

Speaking in Iten during a church service attended by President William Ruto, Gachagua claimed that Justice Maina declared his wealth proceeds of crime without giving him a chance to defend himself.

He indicated that he will present his complaint before the JSC o Thursday at 2.15pm.

“I will personally present a petition before CJ Koome against Justice Esther Maina for her removal from the Judiciary for misconduct and corruption. She declared my hard-earned wealth as proceeds of crime without giving me an opportunity to be heard,” he said.

DP continued Kenya Kwanza’s onslaught against the Judiciary, claiming that the arm of government is corrupt and has failed to act on evidence presented to it allegedly showing corruption amongst its senior officers.

“We would like to ask CJ Koome how many complaints have been filed against judicial officers, how many she has dealt with, and what is the timeline to conclude those petitions she has challenged us to give evidence”, Gachagua said.

He further urged Kenyans to join him and file more petitions if they had similar cases against the judiciary.

Ruto has been leading the attack on the judiciary amid criticism he is doing so for his own interests.

In July 2002, anti corruption judge Justice Maina ruled that Sh202 million belonging to the DP was received from government agencies but there was no evidence of goods or services supplied to the government.

The law says one cannot take such an action because of the discretion of the judge.

Gachagua had been found with what the judge described as proceeds of corruption. More than Sh200 million that was found in his bank account was frozen before he got the same back.

This was after he got to power as the DP. The move was seen as a favor done to him because of his political position.

The money which was held at Rafiki Microfinance Bank, was in three accounts with one holding Sh165 million, a second account held Sh35 million and the other held Sh773,228.