This archive report was first published on 9 September 2021.
On September 9, 2021, a dramatic scene unfolded at the Milimani law courts in Nairobi, where police found USD7,000 (Sh770,700) in the pockets of High Court Judge Said Juma Chitembwe.
According to an affidavit filed by the judge, he willingly handed over the cash to the officers after seeing them conduct a body search on Justice Aggrey Muchelule, fearing misrepresentation.
Justice Chitembwe claimed the money was meant for his son's school fees in Australia and had been in his possession since July 20, 2021, as he was unable to transfer it directly to his son's university tuition account.
He stated that he always wired money directly to his son's account by converting US dollars to Australian currency and that his family had kept a dollar account under his wife's name for over three years.
Chitembwe also expressed his discontent over the manner in which he was arrested, claiming he was ordered in an unruly and undignified manner and frog-marched by the officers from the high court to the DCI office.
