A Nakuru court has ordered the prosecution to return a laptop seized during the arrest of a Kericho magistrate who is alleged to have received a bribe from a suspect to rule in his favour.
During the mentioning of the case on Friday, Kericho resident magistrate Judith Achieng who is accused of soliciting a bribe on Friday urged the court to order the prosecution to return her laptop computer.
The prosecution told the court that her identity card and laptop are part of the exhibit, stressing that the laptop indeed contained the magistrate's judgement on the matter connected to the charge.
"The contents of the laptop have been availed to forensic experts to examine and we will release it when the report is made, which has not been made till now," the prosecution told the court.
Achieng was charged on two counts of allegedly receiving Sh30,000 bribe from Wilson Yegon through her court clerk Robert Cheruiyot who at the time acted as an interpreter on August 20 and 27 at Kericho law courts.
According to the charge sheet, Cheruiyot faced four counts of illegally receiving money amounting to Sh80,000 from Yegon as an inducement to facilitate a favourable ruling.
The two were arrested on August 20 by officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for allegedly taking Sh20,000 bribe from Yegon who had been accused of running a bar without a licence in 2014 and the matter was awaiting judgement.
The accused's lawyer, David Mongeri told the court that the investigating officers confiscated her national identity card and a personal laptop which he said contains personal documents and undelivered judgements.
Appearing on September 3 before Principle Magistrate Wakumile Ndururu, they both denied the charges and their lawyers pleaded for favourable bond terms.
Ndururu ordered the prosecution to return her national identification card, remain with a certified copy and the laptop returned to the judiciary by the day of mention.
They were released on a surety bond of Sh50,000 with one surety and an alternative cash bail of Sh20,000.
The case will be mentioned on October 10, pending hearing on October 26.