Captain Kung’u Muigai’s decades-long battle with Kenya Commercial Bank paints a disturbing picture of how the judiciary and powerful institutions collude to strip individuals of property and justice.
He lost assets valued at more than Sh3 billion after a loan his company took in the 1980s led to an auction that was allegedly based on a consent order and judgment that do not exist.
For years Muigai tried to get the courts to address these irregularities, but he was consistently frustrated. He went as far as filing complaints against 18 judges, accusing them of taking bribes to rule against him.
Yet the Judicial Service Commission dismissed all his claims without proper action, raising doubts about its impartiality and role in shielding compromised judges.
The story took a darker turn when Muigai’s lawyer, Kyalo Mbobu, who had taken on the case, was gunned down in Nairobi in what appeared to be a drive-by assassination. The Law Society of Kenya termed his killing a targeted hit linked to his work on sensitive matters like Muigai’s case.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has since opened a probe, but the silence around the matter has only strengthened suspicions that Mbobu’s death is tied to the corruption he exposed. His killing has become a chilling reminder of the risks faced by lawyers who dare challenge entrenched interests.
Former LSK president Nelson Havi has been vocal in amplifying Muigai’s story. He has demanded the judiciary produce the missing documents to prove that fraud did not occur. To him, this case demonstrates the depth of corruption from the High Court to the Supreme Court, with the JSC serving as a shield for compromised judges. He has called for the removal of Chief Justice Martha Koome and the reconstitution of the JSC to restore credibility. A large part of the criticism has fallen on Supreme Court Judge Isaac Lenaola, who was named in Muigai’s complaints. Instead of facing accountability, Lenaola has continued to sit on the bench, protected by a system that refuses to examine serious allegations.
The accusations against Lenaola are not limited to Muigai’s matter. Victoria Keen, daughter of the late minister John Keen, has accused him of forgery, conflict of interest, and irregular transfers in the handling of a Sh13 billion estate where he was an executor.
She even claims Lenaola bought part of the estate for himself, a blatant abuse of his position. Despite her petition to the JSC for his removal, no decisive action has been taken. Havi has branded Lenaola a dangerous figure unfit for judicial service, arguing that his record shows a pattern of misconduct that erodes public trust in the Supreme Court.
The official response to these claims has only deepened public anger. The judiciary spokesperson dismissed Muigai’s accusations as malicious but failed to provide the very documents that could prove otherwise.
This avoidance, instead of transparency, has fueled the perception that fraud and bribery lie at the core of these disputes. Already, lawyers and litigants in regions like Busia have started boycotts against corrupt magistrates, a move that could spread nationally as calls to boycott courts presided by compromised judges like Lenaola grow louder.
What is at stake goes beyond Muigai or the Keen family. It exposes how banks and judges can allegedly conspire to seize assets, leaving victims with no recourse. Former critics of the judiciary such as lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi have long decried corruption in the Supreme Court, and Muigai’s ordeal is proof that such warnings were not exaggerated. Without firm action, judicial corruption will remain the biggest obstacle in Kenya’s fight against graft. Mbobu’s murder shows how high the cost of truth can be, and unless decisive steps are taken, including publishing all disputed orders and forcing implicated judges to resign, the rot within the judiciary will continue to deny justice to Kenyans.
