High Court has suspended the prosecution of magistrate Stella Atambo after serious efforts from her lawyers to stop it.
The court has issued temporary orders stopping the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) from arresting or prosecuting her. This
Judge Chacha Mwita made the ruling on Monday, March 17, after the magistrate filed a petition challenging the legality of the case against her. In her application, she questioned how a search warrant was obtained. The magistrate is accused of obtaining bribes to determine cases under her jurisdiction.
Her lawyers, Shadrach Wamboi and Danstan Omari, asked the court to grant an injunction, arguing that the issues in the two cases are fundamentally different and should be addressed separately.
“We respectfully urge the court to issue the orders, as the reliefs sought in both cases are as different as day and night,”said lawyer Peter Njagi.
The court was informed that the DPP had been included in the High Court case due to his prosecutorial authority.
Ruling on whether EACC will continue with prosecution will be made tomorrow at 9am.
Speaking after the injunction order was made, lawyers Omari, Peter Njagi and Martina Swiga said that Magistrate Atambo’s ordeal was an attack on the Judiciary. “We have seen a serious attack on Judiciary.
It started from the Chief Justice, it came to the judges, it has now come to the magistrates, and they are using the criminal angle.
The fact that they are avoiding the ODPP it is meant to embarrass and bring disrespect to the institution’s like the Judiciary,” Omari said. The lawyers also revealed that they will be filing a petition seeking the disbandment of the EACC.
