This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
Malindi Law Courts: A Hotbed of Corruption and Extortion ¶
Corruption among judicial officers at Malindi Law Courts has reached alarming levels, with suspected extortionists selling justice to the highest bidder. The Judiciary's intensified war on corruption has been met with new attempts by corrupt individuals, including senior magistrates and officials from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, to work with cartels involving powerful prostitutes and court brokers.
These cartels identify and profile victims for bribes, often creating suspicious claims, such as defilement and unlawful assault cases, against targeted wealthy and familiar individuals. The cases are then reported to corrupt police officers, who lodge fabricated charges, and forwarded to a friendly magistrate for prosecution.
According to sources, such cases are only brought to court and prosecuted before magistrates known to be part of the extortion scheme. The magistrates' only work is to see that the targeted accused individuals are frustrated through exorbitant bail rates and prolonged court processes unless they toe the line and part away with money demanded as bribe.
Many suspected corrupt judicial officers and magistrates in the tourist town have enriched themselves through bribes and other malpractices, jeopardizing and evading the criminal justice system. They are seen driving slick cars and owning expensive houses and other properties, particularly in Malindi and Mombasa.
The scheme targets wealthy tourists and foreign investors from across Kilifi and Mombasa, mainly Italians, Germans, and other Europeans. Malindi and Mtwapa are the areas of interest due to their tourism and the presence of many rich foreign investors.
Julie Oseko, a Malindi-based magistrate, is in trouble with the Judicial Service Commission after being accused of chatting on phone during court sessions and leaving the hearings in the middle of witnesses' testimonies.
One of the latest cases involves a Turkish billionaire, Osman Elsek, who is facing various charges of defilement said to have been trumped-up on him after he turned down demands for bribes from the extortion ring. The hearing of the Turkish's case has been going on before Oseko since early last year.
However, the manner in which the case was being handled by the court has raised eyebrows. The chief magistrate has been accused of using proxies to reach the Turkish tycoon for a bribe of Sh5m in order to throw out the case and set him free.
Through affidavits seen by Weekly Citizen, the Turkish tycoon accused the chief magistrate and the prosecution team of being biased and altering of the court's handwritten proceedings, which appeared differently from the typed ones.
