This archive report was first published on 13 September 2019.
Published on September 13, 2019, a case targeting Mombasa Principal Magistrate Edgar Kagoni has sparked controversy at the Mombasa High Court in Mombasa County. Prosecution Counsels' Alexander Muteti and other prosecutors are under fire for their handling of the case.
Lawyers Elisha Ongoya and Nelson Havi, representing Mr. Kagoni, argue that judges and magistrates have a legal immunity that the DPP is not respecting. They claim that the DPP has not cited the laws that Kagoni has broken before prosecuting him.
The case against Kagoni stems from the alleged mishandling of a consignment of narcotics seized from a drug trafficking suspect, Hussein Masoud Eid Bakari, earlier this year. The narcotics allegedly vanished from court stores after Mr. Hussein's conviction, and the DPP is blaming Kagoni.
“The behaviour of the DPP in this matter is one that will require a sociological inquiry long after the matter is settled,” said Mr. Ongoya. He noted that the DPP's actions will make judicial officers cringe in fear that their rulings could land them in prison.
Mr. Havi said there was no evidence showing that the State made an application to have the narcotics seized from Hussein placed in police custody. The lawyers also accuse the DPP and the Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI) of launching a criminal prosecution against a sitting magistrate out of 'wounded pride.'
They said the failed attempt to charge Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu must have hurt the egos of both State officials and that is why they were targeting Kagoni. The lawyers noted that unless the prosecution arm of the State is stopped on its tracks, the attack on judicial officers will continue.
