Kenya’s High Court on Wednesday suspended criminal proceedings against Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu [official profile], who was arrested [local report] on charges of corruption on Tuesday.
Mwilu was taken into custody for questioning at the Supreme Court by Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DIC) [official website] and has since been released on bond.
Shortly before the arrest, Mwilu was at a meeting of the Judicial Service Commission, the official employer of the judiciary in Kenya. It is not yet clear if the meeting directly concerned the allegations against Mwilu or not. Also in attendance at this meeting was George Kinoti, the Director of the DIC. It also remains unclear as to why Kinoti was present.
The arrest comes after the Kenyan Revenue Authority revealed that Mwuli’s bank accounts were found to be transferring suspiciously large sums of money. The investigators into the matter also noted that it is believed that Mwilu accepted loan totaling 120,000 USD from the now-defunct Imperial Bank, an act which would be illegal under Kenyan law. Included in her charges are unlawful failure to pay taxes, abuse of office, and stealing.
The allegations against Mwilu are currently being scheduled to be heard by a Kenyan anti-corruption court.