Former Laikipia North MP Matthew Lempurkel who was jailed over an assault case has written to Chief Justice Martha Koome claiming that the magistrate who handled his case solicited a bribe of Sh1 million from him. He claims in the petition, Hellen Onkwani the magistrate demanded through his lawyer Saitaboi Ole Kanchori Sh1 million.
“We cannot rule out the fact that money changed hands between the above mentioned judicial officer and the said operatives as we are aware that in or around August 2021 the said Onkwani, principal magistrate solicited a bribe of Sh1,000,000 from our client, Lempurkel, which our client was unable and unwilling to raise,” read the letter.
Lempurkel was convicted of the misdemeanour of assault on November 5 2021 and handed a mandatory custodial sentence of a year with no fine. He further stated that two men representing a foreign mission and some ranchers in Laikipia county met at a restaurant on Lenana Road, Kilimani, Nairobi and at Kivi apartments where details of the case were discussed and the outcome.
He wonders loud why the magistrate who was on transfer from July 2021 insisted on handling the file and insisted on concluding the case. The letter reads: “The learned trial magistrate Onkwani, principal magistrate who was on transfer from July 2021 even before the close of the defence case but still held on to the file and insisted on concluding the same for reasons that have now become clear”.
Lempurkel has petitioned the JSC over the magistrate’s conduct, saying that the magistrate is unfit to serve as a judicial officer because of her sexist views towards men.
Martha Koome “We shall at the appropriate time petition the Judicial Service Commission concerning the conduct of the aforesaid Okwani, principal magistrate including her inappropriateness to serve as a judicial officer on account of her very strong and deep feminist/sexist views and apparent hostility towards men which renders her incapable of fairly and impartially adjudicating over disputes between all sections of society,” the letter reads.
The lawyer further implicates a judge who was allegedly approached to compromise a ruling where the MP had filed an appeal. They want Koome to intervene in the matter and direct that the court file be allocated to any other judge in the High Court to safeguard the constitutional rights of Lempurkel to a fair hearing.
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