Governor Jackson Mandago Calls For the Protection and Independence of the Judiciary 

Governor Jackson Mandago has called for independence and the protection of the judiciary.

The Governor speaks even as debates rage over Thursday’s arrest of justices Said Chitembwe and Aggrey Muchelule, on allegations of corruption. There are claims that a bribery exercise might have been “stage-managed” to fix the judges.

But the arrest done at the judges’ chambers by sleuths from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation has queued in a complicated debate, with some alleging that it is a state onslaught on the judiciary.

President Uhuru Kenyatta had declined to appoint Muchelule, and five others, after the Judicial Service Commission forwarded names, the head of state only appointing 34 out of 40 nominees, to various elevations.

Speaking in Rarieda, in Siaya County on Friday, Mandago maintained that the judiciary needs to be given space to independently dispense justice to Kenyans.

“The judiciary is that institution that serves justice for both the rich and the poor. It is, therefore, very important that it gets its space to function well,” he says.

“We hope that this case is investigated and solved amicably, without losing our focus on keeping the judiciary as independent as it should be.”

Siaya Senator, James Orengo, Member of Parliament for Rarieda, Otiendo Amollo were among the leaders who also attended the event that was the burial of Mzee Sospeter Gumbo, father to the former legislator, Nicholas Gumbo.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Judges and Magistrates Association has moved to court to bar the prosecution of justices Muchelule and Chitembwe, pending the hearing of their cases.