Kenya judge alleges threats

Kenyan Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said on Wednesday that he had received a letter threatening violence if he assists with an open case against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta (pictured above).

Mutunga said it was addressed to judges and ambassadors, and began circulating before the High Court ruled last week that it had no jurisdiction over Kenyatta's current election campaign. He is currently second in the polls for the March 4 presidential election in Kenya.

Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto, stand accused with two others of inciting the violence that displaced hundreds of thousands after the 2007 presidential election. Nevertheless he remains a leading candidate in this year's vote. Just three weeks away, the election will be the first since the disputed results in December 2007 led to the brutal fighting and attacks.

Appointed in 2011 to reform the judiciary, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said on Wednesday that the letter was dated February 13.

If Kenyatta were stopped from running, it reads, judges and ambassadors should "buy your own coffins and graves. We will cut off your heads and feed them to wild animals in Nairobi National Park."

The Kenyatta and Ruto supporters alleged that the case was led by forces beyond Kenya's borders.

"We are tired of being bullied by America, Britain and the European Union. We know your boss the chief justice is a stooge of the Americans," the letter said.

‘Uninvited guests'

Mutunga also said on releasing the letter that it would have no effect.

"If anybody, any candidate, any party, any agency, or any other actor thinks that it will bend the ear, mind and resolve of this chief justice to do anything that is unconstitutional or illegal, then they are mistaken," Mutunga said. "On any matter that will come before me or the Supreme Court, I and the court shall operate strictly within the confines of the constitution. Intimidation and threats are uninvited guests and will not be hosted in the execution of our mandate."

Officials suspect the Mungiki gang of drafting the letter, though it's source is not known. Kenyatta stands accused of financing Mungiki attacks in 2007 against supporters of then opposition leader Raila Odinga, now prime minister and narrowly leading in polls.

Mutunga also said that immigration officers detained him at Nairobi's airport on Tuesday when he was en route to Tanzania. The director-general of Kenya's National Intelligence Service later apologized to Mutunga for the "small hiccup." Mutunga reported his suspicions of harassment to the intelligence head, asking for measures in response.

The chief justice called the letter and the incident at the airport indicative of a pattern of emerging harassment against the judiciary. To back this up, he said at least five judges have been attacked recently, including being menaced with guns.

Mutunga appealed for a peaceful vote: "It is only by so doing that we shall silence these dark forces of retrogression and also advance our constitutional and democratic promise."

mkg/msh (Reuters, AP)