This archive report was first published on 31 August 2019.
On August 31, 2019, a petition was submitted to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) accusing Dr. Julie Oseko, a Malindi-based magistrate, of disrupting court proceedings by using her phone.
The petition, submitted by 54-year-old Turkish tycoon Elsek Osman, who is facing defilement charges involving minors, alleges that the magistrate was not attentive during the proceedings, leading to errors and missing evidence.
According to the petition, Dr. Oseko was seen texting, making calls, and using her phone to surf the internet on several occasions, disrupting the court proceedings.
Mr. Osman's advocates, Cliff Ombeta and Daniel Wamotsa, supported the petition with a sworn affidavit, stating that the magistrate's written court records do not reflect a true account of witness testimonies.
Another advocate, Mr. Maurice Mkan, representing witnesses and their parents, also swore an affidavit affirming that the magistrate's actions were disruptive and resulted in gaps in the court proceedings.
The defilement case, involving ten counts of child defilement, is scheduled for mention on Monday.
