Court of Appeal judge GBM Kariuki yesterday was awarded Sh5 million for his “malicious” prosecution eight years ago.
Kariuki, then a judge of the High Court and presiding judge of the Family Division, was arrested on October 20, 2008 and charged with attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm.
He was accused of stabbing Robert Karori following a scuffle.
They were involved in a minor accident on Lower Kabete Road in Spring Valley on October 18, 2008.
The judge was acquitted by Nairobi chief magistrate Gilbert Mutembei about a year later for lack of evidence.
He then sued the state, saying charges were instigated maliciously and with a view to humiliate him.
The judge said police arrested and prosecuted him without carrying out investigations and recording a statement from Karori, the complainant.
He said police actions amounted to abuse of office and were malicious because they had no bearing on the public interest or maintenance of law and order.
The judge said he was arrested in “commando-style” by police carrying AK47 rifles.
They jumped over his fence, accompanied by reporters.
Kariuki said police carried the orders on instructions of Martha Karua, then Justice minister, who had been a friend for many years.
He said she wanted to get back on him after he left her.
The judge said police had the option of not complying with her orders, but they locked him up overnight in police cells, as Kenyans celebrated Kenyatta Day in 2008.
The government denied that the charges were malicious and denied Kariuki was charged before his case was investigated.
But in his judgement, Justice George Odunga yesterday said it was clear the prosecution was “at the very least, instigated recklessly”.
He said the arrest should have been done in a manner to preserve Kariuki’s dignity.
“To assemble a whole battalion in order to effect arrest of a judge as a opposed to a most wanted criminal or a terrorist, with the result that unnecessary publicity is thereby aroused may well be evidence in malice,” Odunga said.
He said the position of a judge depends on the trust the public has in the holder of the office to dispense justice.
If the holder is charged with a criminal offence, that confidence is bound to be eroded, Odunga said.