High Court blocks EACC from investigating bribery claims against Thika Magistrate Stella Atambo

The High Court has restrained the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from investigating and prosecuting Thika Chief Magistrate Stella Atambo in connection with Sh2 million recovered from her house in Syokimau, Machakos County, last week.

The orders, issued by Justice Chacha Mwita, are extended to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and suspend search orders issued by the Milimani Anti-Corruption Magistrate’s Court.

EACC investigators had moved the magistrate’s court seeking a warrant to enter the respondent’s Syokimau residence to seize documentary evidence, electronic devices, unexplained sums of money, or any other items deemed necessary for investigations into economic crimes.

The investigators sought orders to search the premises of a subject they identified as "Bonareri N" without making full and frank disclosure to the court, which granted the orders. However, the detectives proceeded to Atambo’s home, where they recovered Sh2 million, alleged to be proceeds of bribery.

Atambo's lawyer, Danstan Omari, stated that the magistrate views the EACC’s actions as a calculated and unwarranted attack, seemingly designed to intimidate, harass, and obstruct her in the discharge of her judicial mandate.

"The order itself demonstrates that the applicant (EACC) deliberately misrepresented the petitioner (Atambo) as ‘Bonareri N’, despite having access to her full details. There was no legitimate reason for failing to list her full name, as has been done in this petition," reads the petition filed by Omari.

"The arguments and framing of the application were intentionally designed to conceal the petitioner’s (Atambo’s) official capacity, a fact that is publicly available and unquestionably known to the (EACC). Their deliberate omission raises serious concerns about the integrity of their application."

Omari argued that the EACC investigators, despite failing to disclose material facts or provide any evidentiary basis for the search orders, nonetheless obtained them and proceeded to violate the sanctity of Atambo's home without lawful justification.

The lawyer stated that Atambo presides over highly sensitive, emotive, and politically charged cases and has a legitimate and reasonable apprehension that the recent search, seizure, and intimidatory actions were deliberately orchestrated either as retribution or as an attempt to stifle her selfless and unwavering commitment to dispensing justice.

"Officers from the (EACC) arrived at the petitioner’s (Atambo’s) home, where she resides with her spouse and children, and gained entry in a manner that was excessive and uncivilised," states Omari.

"They ransacked the house with reckless abandon, disrupting everything in sight and leaving the premises in disarray. This was done in the full presence of the petitioner’s children, intruding upon their privacy and exposing them to needlessly distressing and traumatic experiences."

EACC investigators recovered the money, which they alleged was evidence in bribery cases. However, lawyer Shadrack Wambui said that the money belongs to his client, Evans Achoki, who is Atambo’s spouse, and he is demanding that it be returned immediately.

Omari stated that Atambo’s petition seeks the High Court’s intervention to reaffirm the independence of the judiciary.

Justice Mwita ordered Omari to serve the petition and orders to the other respondents – EACC, DPP, and DCI – within seven days. The respondents will be required to respond within seven days thereafter. The matter will be mentioned on 10 June.

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