Kenya's Supreme Court judges file into the chamber during the opening of the 11th Parliament in the capital Nairobi April 16, 2013. REUTERS/Noor Khamis (KENYA - Tags: POLITICS)

National Assembly Majority leader, Aden Duale, has called on chief Justice Willy Mutunga to review afresh all 2013 election petitions on governors at the Supreme Court.

This is after  Wily Mutunga confirmed through a statement that he had received an affidavit by one Geoffrey Kiplagat alleging that Justice Tunoi received US$2 million (Sh202 million) from Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero to rule in his favour in the election petition filed by Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu, who was then contesting for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.

“All the election petitions on governors at the Supreme Court must be reviewed a fresh,” Duale tweeted.

In his statement, the CJ said that “In view of the gravity of the allegations and the public interest the matter has generated, I will be presenting this matter to a special sitting of the JSC “, which will determine justice Tunoi’s  fate, adding that he would  also forward the report to the EACC for further investigations.

Mutunga ordered an investigation into the corruption allegations against the judge last November after his office received the affidavit.

JUDICIARY ON TRIAL WAITITU SAYS

Ferdinand Waititu on his part maintains that the 2014 Supreme Court ruling on his election petition against Evans Kidero should be quashed “in the interest of justice” following the bribery allegations.

“I have all along told Nairobians that something wrong had actually happened in the ruling, and I want to make a passionate appeal to the Chief Justice, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), National Intelligence Services (NIS) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to carry out a thorough investigations and make sure they satisfy the doubts that have now been created to the minds of Kenyans, that the Judiciary is corrupt. I want to tell the Chief Justice that the Judiciary is on trial,” he told a news conference.

Waititu contested the Nairobi gubernatorial seat in the 2013 elections on a TNA ticket and lost to ODM’s Dr Evans Kidero by a narrow margin (692483 votes against 617839). He later filed a petition on grounds that the election was marred by massive irregularities in several polling stations.

The High Court upheld the election of Nairobi governor Dr. Evans Kidero and slapped the former Embakasi legislator with a 5 million shilling fine as costs of the suit.

KIDERO/TUNOI DENY BRIBERY CLAIMS

Both Tunoi and Kidero have refuted the allegations with the later arguing that  he’s never met in person justice Tunoi nor the whistle-blower, journalist Geoffrey Kiplagat, who claims to have been the intermediary between the two.. He termed the accusations by Kiplagat, whom he refers to as a “boy” as “outrageous fiction”.

“I have never met Justice Tunoi or the said Geoffrey Kiplagat. I only see Tunoi on TV,” he said.

Justice Tunoi attributed the allegations to “succession battles” at the Supreme Court by a section of lawyers, who he says drafted the affidavit for Kiplagt.

“I have never taken a bribe in my life, such allegations have never been made against me. The accusations are being used to malign my service to the Judiciary,” Justice Tunoi said.

“I am informed that a group of lawyers and one judge drafted the affidavit for Geoffrey Kiplagat,” He added.