Kenya Judiciary flew in US Marshals over Chief Justice Mutunga’s security

Capital FM News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 9 – Interdicted Deputy Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Kakai Kissinger has admitted to the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that US Marshals were flown in to evaluate the security of the house that was purchased in Runda for the Chief Justice.

He said the Marshals were an addition to a security firm that had already been contracted to evaluate the security of the premises and that they put together a special report for Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and the then Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Boss Shollei.

He said the Judiciary tender committee, of which he was chairman, was driven mainly by security concerns when they authorised the purchase of the Sh310 million house but did not factor in the Marshals’ report in their decision.

“What came to our committee was a different security report that was prepared by a different security company. So what was the guiding factor was how secure is the house of the Chief Justice,” he told the committee.

He however admitted that the process was irregular adding that he would carry out the tendering process in a different way given another chance.

Kakai explained that the committee did not even wait for a complete valuation to be carried out on the residence before awarding the tender to Johnson Nduya Muthama Holdings Limited, a company owned by Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama.

“You relied on an interim, preliminary, incomplete evaluation?,” the committee chair and Budalangi Member of Parliament Ababu Namwamba posed to him and he replied, “yes.”

And in a letter presented to Kakai by Namwamba it emerged that the valuer was unable to submit a final report as they were unclear on the exact acreage of the property among other details without which the tender committee went ahead to award the tender.

“Chair I tried to do what I could in the circumstances,” Kakai defended himself.

Kakai blamed the shortcomings of the tender committee on the fast pace of transformation in the Judiciary and a heavy reliance on consultants but denied being a ceremonial chair or a “flower girl,” as put to him by Namwamba.