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| Justice Roselyne Aburili (pictured) |
Kisumu High Court Presiding Judge Roselyne Aburili has lodged a report with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) against her assistant and a court advocate over allegations of a KSh 500,000 bribe. Justice Roselyne Aburili (pictured) reported a lawyer and a Kisumu court clerk to EACC for trying to bribe her. According to EACC spokesperson Eric Ngumbi, Justice Aburili alleges that the lawyer, Clifford Odhiambo and clerk Zakayo Otieno Wambogo demanded and accepted the money from a claimant using her name in exchange for influencing a favourable judgment in a case she adjudicated on May 17, 2024. Was Justice Aburili aware of the planned bribery? She revealed that she became aware of Odhiambo’s attempt to pass the same amount to her through the assistant without her consent, prompting her to initiate disciplinary measures. “When seeking the bribe, the suspects claimed the judge needed it to influence a favourable judgment in a case she ruled on May 17. In an open court interview, they confessed to receiving and splitting the money amongst themselves,” said Ngumbi. Preliminary investigations revealed that the money was given to advocate Gwada by Peter Warindu and Company Advocates for whom he was holding brief in the case. EACC further noted that when Justice Aburili served in Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, she reported staff working in her chambers to EACC after they solicited a bribe in her name. She later testified against them in Court, leading to their conviction for giving and receiving a bribe. The anti-corruption body has apprehended the advocate and the court clerk, holding them in custody at the Kisumu Railway Police Station pending their scheduled arraignment.
by Nancy Odindo