Lawyer Phillip Murgor has said his arrest in 1982 in relation to the famous coup played a major role in his legal career.
“One morning in the month of August I got caught up in the coup in 1982 I found myself arrested with a group of 60 students who were found to have participated in the grouping,” Murgor said.
He said he was incarcerated and missed a lot of classes but later I was released and went back to University having missed a lot due to that case.
Murgor who appeared before the Judicial Service commission on Friday said there is a lot of misconceptions about him.
He has told the commission that he is a husband to a judge of the court of appeal Justice Agnes Murgor, a father of three two daughters and one son.
Murgor said he met his wife at the State Law office where they were working before they left to go and set up their private office.
He was born in Elgeyo Marakwet in 1961 but they later moved and settled in Uasin Gishu County with his family.
“As a child I grew up in a polygamous family of 18 children in that competitive environment this type of atmosphere brought be close to my mother she is the person that taught me the person who I am today,” he said.
“I am here because of my mother who has brought me to where I am today."
He resigned and went to private practice in 1992 where he went to start a law firm from scratch with the wife.
He says he been able to grow the practice until it’s become well know and through the years they have handled and mentored many students.
Murgor also says his law firm has handled many briefs of prominent people including a representing a president of a republic.
He represented the late President Daniel Arap Moi, he has represented clients connected to the Goldenberg Scandal where he says he came into contact with powerful individuals which took collaboration between agencies in government to succeed.
It was on account of the Goldenberg scandal case where he helped the state recover stolen money that he was appointed as a DPP.
Murgor says he was selected by the then government to be the DPP without him being consulted.
Murgor says there is a vacuum in the office of the Chief Justice since the departure of Former CJ Maraga in January.
He was responding to a question by Acting CJ Mwilu on the challenges of presiding Judges in the Judiciary.
This led Mwilu to ask him if he meant the current acting CJ was not doing her job well and Murgor insisted that Mwilu is an Acting Chief Justice so that means the office is vacant as there is no substantive office holder.
However, Murgor told Mwilu that he was in no way disrespecting her as Acting CJ but only stating a fact that she is an Acting CJ not the Chief Justice.
