• He was one of the chief magistrates whose swearing-in was cancelled at the 11th hour as they waited at State House.
• Muchelule was arrest mid last year over corruption related allegations.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
Judge Aggrey Otsyula Muchelule's appointment confirms the confidence President William Ruto has in the seasoned judge.
He was appointed to head the tribunal investigating the four beleaguered IEBC commissioners.
Muchelule whose name is common in the corridors of justice has had a successful career journey spanning decades.
But, his arrest mid last year over corruption related allegations almost ruined it.
He was nabbed alongside Said Chitembwe at their offices in Milimani court.
This came even after former president Uhuru Kenyatta rejected him as one of the 41 judges to be promoted to the Court of Appeal over what was termed as intelligence reports about him.
Others who were also left out include justices George Odunga, Weldon Korir and Joel Ngugi.
Evans Makori and Judith Omange Cheruiyot who had been recommended for the labour court were also rejected.
This was the second time he faced a backset in his professional journey.
But, as fate would have it, Ruto walked his pre-election pledge and handed him and the other judges smiles, appointing them as his first role while promising to respect the independence of the judiciary.
“Kenya can only become better if we become a country of the rule of law. Any other route leads to anarchy. We are equal before the law and our Constitution.
"There must never be the case of the animal farm where there are people who are more equal than others," he said during the swearing in ceremony at State House.
For Muchelule who joined the judicial service as a district magistrate II in 1982 before rising to a chief magistrate, fortunes must be smiling on him. But, he has had a fair share of the devil's own luck.
He was one of the chief magistrates whose swearing-in was cancelled at the 11th hour as they waited at State House.
The then chief justice Evans Gicheru had escorted him together with Florence Muchemi and lawyer Abida Ali Aroni to State House only for the event to abort.
The former chairman of the Kenya Magistrate and Judges Association has presided over high-level cases, including the Sh6 billion cocaine case and was handling the Sh5.8 billion Goldenberg related cases.
As chief magistrate, he served in Mombasa, Kakamega, Nairobi and Eldoret.
In 2009, he was appointed a High Court judge working in Kisii, Nairobi and Kisumu.
Muchelule, the University of Nairobi graduate, has been a presiding judge at the Embu and Bungoma High Courts.
He served in the Task Force on Alternative Dispute Resolution and was a commissioner to the Judicial Service Commission.
He has served in various committees including the Judicial Reform and Development Committee among others.
Muchelule has also served as member of various professional bodies including the East Africa Magistrates and Judges Association, Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association.