High Court extends orders halting prosecution of Chief Magistrate Stella Atambo
Justice Chacha Mwita extended the orders to July 1, pending the hearing of an application by the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA), which is seeking to be enjoined in the case as an interested party.
The High Court has extended interim orders stopping the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) from investigating or prosecuting Thika Law Courts Chief Magistrate Stella Atambo, who is facing bribery allegations.
Justice Chacha Mwita extended the orders to July 1, pending the hearing of an application by the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA), which is seeking to be enjoined in the case as an interested party.
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"I will first hear the application by KMJA to be enjoined in this matter, and interim orders that are in place are extended to July 1," ruled Justice Mwita.
The Judge further directed Magistrate Atambo to serve the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) with her amended petition challenging the investigations and intended prosecution.
This direction came after it emerged that the State agencies had not yet been served afresh with the amended petition.
The petition is part of Atambo's efforts to stop what she terms as unlawful investigations and a looming prosecution.
In March, Atambo, through her lawyers Shadrack Wamboi and Dantan Omari, had urged the court to grant the injunction, arguing that the reliefs sought in the two cases—one in the High Court and another in the lower court—are fundamentally different.
"We plead with the court to consider granting the orders because the reliefs sought in the two courts are as different as day and night," Wamboi submitted before High Court Judge Chacha Mwita.
Her lawyers indicated that the DPP had been enjoined in the High Court case, given his prosecutorial mandate.
Wamboi further argued that the lower court proceedings revolved around search warrants, while the High Court was being asked to review and scrutinise the legal process undertaken in the magistrate's case.
Additionally, the defense pointed out that no formal complaints had come forward in the matter.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA) has condemned what it describes as a coordinated attack on judicial officers, warning that the independence of the judiciary is under threat.
The association decried the increasing personal attacks, intimidation, and harassment of judicial officers, stating that such actions expose them to public ridicule, psychological distress, and the risk of mob justice.
KMJA has sought to be enjoined in the proceedings, asserting that investigative agencies are misusing legal processes to criminalise judicial functions.
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