Firebrand Nairobi lawyer Willis Otieno has unleashed a blistering broadside against Chief Justice Martha Koome, blasting the Judiciary’s silence on explosive claims that a High Court judge demanded KSh 10 million to rig a multibillion-shilling property dispute.
In a no-holds-barred statement ripping through social media, Otieno accused the top court boss of risking public trust by dragging her feet. “The office of Martha Koome must treat this with the urgency it deserves,” he thundered. “Silence or slow action will only deepen suspicion that shadowy brokers and compromised officers are pulling strings behind the scenes.”
Otieno pulled no punches: “If a judge is truly soliciting KSh 10 million to tilt a case, that judge has ZERO moral or constitutional right to sit on the bench another single day. The Judiciary can’t demand public respect for its orders while some inside are allegedly auctioning justice to the highest bidder.”
He fired a direct call to arms at key watchdogs: “The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Judicial Service Commission (JSC) must launch an immediate, no-nonsense probe. Establish the facts fast – and if proven, remove and prosecute the rogue officer without mercy. Justice cannot – and will not – be for sale.”
The bombshell allegations trace back to former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju’s fierce fight against the East African Development Bank (EADB) over his prized Karen property, tied to a staggering KSh 1.9 billion-plus debt saga. Tuju delivered a formal petition straight to Koome, claiming agents linked to the judge repeatedly pressured him for the bribe in exchange for a favourable ruling.
“For weeks her agents came demanding money and I refused,” Tuju declared outside the Supreme Court after handing over the petition. “Rather than pay this bribe, I chose to work with the EACC.” He insisted evidence has already been shared with the EACC, DCI, and ODPP.
Drama escalated dramatically: just days earlier, auctioneers backed by over 100 alleged goons stormed Tuju’s Karen property in a late-night bid to seize it – without any formal eviction order, he charged. Tuju contrasted his approach sharply: “I came to the Judiciary today only with a letter – not with goons. If we let our country slide into the goons’ way, we’re heading straight to anarchy and a failed state.”
As of now, the Chief Justice’s office and Judiciary remain eerily quiet – a deafening silence that only fuels Otieno’s fury and public outrage.
Kenyans are watching closely. With the courts already battered by corruption whispers in high-stakes cases, this showdown could define whether justice remains blind – or bends to the highest bidder.
The ball is squarely in Koome’s court.
