On Thursday morning, the tribunal chairperson Sharad Rao complained that the “tribunal finds itself handicapped in not having that information before us; to the stage we have already come.”/KEVIN GITAU
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 9 – The tribunal probing suspended Supreme Court Judge Philip Tunoi will on Monday receive crucial phone data of the alleged exchange between the judge and Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and the alleged agents in the Sh200 million graft probe.
This will also include the phone records of the accuser Geoffrey Kiplagat, who in his sworn statement alleges to have acted as a link-man between the Governor and Tunoi, in a bid to facilitate the bribing.
On Thursday morning, the tribunal chairperson Sharad Rao complained that the “tribunal finds itself handicapped in not having that information before us; to the stage we have already come.”
This was after the tribunal lead counsel Paul Nyamodi presented Thursday’s witnesses – Kidero and Kiprop Chirchir who is said to have accompanied the Governor to a fuel station on Waiyaki Way where the money allegedly exchanged hands.
Rao however said the two and any other witness will only be questioned after the tribunal acquires “the important data.”
“We have decided before we have the Governor or Kiprop …or any other witness for that matter, that we would want now to have the evidence to different telephones and SMSs which have been alleged to have been made,” Rao directed.
The nature of the evidence according to Nyamodi will be in two stages.
“First will be the witness from the mobile phone operator, who will explain how their network works,” Nyamodi explained.
The witness, he said, will identify the various phone numbers that have been queried and indicate under whose name they are registered.
The counsel further revealed to the tribunal that the witness will also explain “what footprint a call or an SMS leaves on their network and how they are then able to retrieve that information.”
This will include an explanation on the limitations of “their network” since telephone data and its analysis has “certain limitations.”
The second witness, will introduce the data, interpret it and then explain what it means to the tribunal, according to Nyamodi.
Rao said, “That is very important data that we must have if we have to make any meaningful progress in this matter” a fact Nyamodi agreed saying, “there is no harm in speeding the process of making it available.”
The tribunal further asked the lead counsel to ‘carefully’ consider witnesses appearing before the tribunal, for the probe to be expeditiously concluded.
“Let’s not have witnesses just for the sake of having them or just because the JSC called them,” Rao stated. “It’s time that we speed up the process and come to a conclusion.”
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