Former Laikipia North MP Mathew Lempurkulel has petitioned to the Chief Justice Martha Koome on the manner which his case was handled.
Lempurkulel was convicted for assaulting the current Laikipia North MP Sarah Korere on November 21, 2016, at Harambee House in Nairobi. He was sentenced to jail for one year without an alternative of a fine.
In a letter to the Chief Justice Martha Koome through his lawyer Saitabo Kanchory, the ex MP said that the trial magistrate Hellen Onkwani was compromised by an unknown solicitor general to fix him.
According to the lawyer, the solicitor general told the senior principal magistrate that he wanted Lempurkulel behind bars. He claimed that the two met at Kilimani in order to influence the court verdict and that he will provide CCTV footage to prove the same.
He further claimed that two other men representing a Foreign Mission and some Ranchers in Laikipia County met at a popular restaurant on Lenana Road, Kilimani, Nairobi and at KIVI Apartments whereby they discussed details of the case against Lempurkulel and the desired outcome by interested parties.
The ex MP claimed that the magistrate had earlier demanded a bribe of Kshs1 million from him but he was unable to raise the amount before being approached by the solicitor general.
“We cannot rule out the fact that money changed hands between the above mentioned judicial officer and the said operatives as we are aware that in or around August 2021 the said Hon. Onkwam, solicited a bribe of Kenya Shillings One Million (Ksh 1,000,000) from our client, Lempurkel, which bribe our client was unable and unwilling to give,” part of the letter read.
He also claimed that the magistrate held on to the his case file and insisted on concluding the case even though she was on transfer.
“The learned trial magistrate Onkwani, who was on transfer from July 2021 even before the close of the Defence Case but still held on to the file and insisted on concluding the same for reasons that have now become clear,”the letter reads.
He intends to petition to the Judicial Service Commission over the judge’s misconduct
“We shall at the appropriate time Petition the Judicial Service Commission concerning the conduct of the aforesaid Hon. Onkwani including her inappropriateness to serve as a judicial officer on account of her very strong and deep feminist/sexist views and apparent hostility towards men which renders her incapable of fairly and impartially adjudicating over disputes between all sections of society,” says Lempurkel.
“We have since established that despite claiming to represent the State or Executive, the said former Solicitor General was essentially an impostor acting at the behest of the self-same interests and operatives associated with a Foreign Mission and large land owners in Laikipia County.” the letter further read.
Kanchori is also preparing to file an appeal against Lempurkulel’s jail sentence.
RELATED STORY:Former MP Sentenced To Jail For Slapping A Woman In 2016
