Kenya's Chief Justice denies siring child with city woman

Justice David Maraga

NAIROBI Kenya

Chief Justice of Kenya, Justice David Maraga has dismissed claims that he sired a child out of wedlock.

Maraga on Tuesday said through lawyer Danstan Omari that the birth certificate alleged to be that of his 'daughter' is fake.

"We have had a perusal and due diligence of the annexures that have been filed to accompany this. For those who have access to the birth certificate... there is no registrar known as Shamwata in the whole country nor has there been an officer with the name N.P Otieno," Omari said.

"This certificate is generated not a document to be relied on."

Omari said there had been pressure on the Chief Justice to resign before his term ends.

Mary Kwamboka, the woman alleging the CJ is the father of her child, went to the Milimani law courts on Tuesday, dressed in a grey dress and red coat and caused a scene.

She screamed, "Nimechoka na hii story, mbona mnanizungusha na hii story kila wakati?" (I'm tired of all this... why are you taking me round in circles?)

"Maraga amekataa kugaramia mtoto wake... anataka mimi nimgaramie mimi mwenyewe." (Maraga has refused to take care of his child. He wants me to take care of the child by myself.)

Kwamboka alleged she met Maraga in 2013 and had an affair with him.

"I now have a six-year-old daughter. I have the documents and have been filing cases here. He was summoned by the Children's Department but he refused to come," she said.

Kwamboka claimed she met Maraga in church and "could not divulge all the information since the case is in court".

"We used to go to Nakuru, Naivasha everywhere that is high-end..." she said.

However, Omari dismissed the allegations.

"The CJ is an elder of the SDA Church. The DPP should get to the root of it. We are not worried about the girl but more about who is behind it," he said.

There has been a push and pull between the Judiciary and the Executive on a number of issues.

Last month, Kenyans were treated to high drama between the Judiciary and the Executive. 

Maraga washed the dirty linen in public, exposing the goings on between the two arms of government.

He first protested the Executive Order by President Uhuru Kenyatta to reorganise government.

He claimed the President doesn’t have constitutional powers to institute changes in the Judiciary (Article 132).