Bukusu Elders Want Review of Ruling against MP John Waluke

A section of members of the Bukusu Council of Elders has appealed to the judiciary to review the ruling issued against Sirisia MP John Waluke.

Led by the Bungoma chapter chairman Prof. Bonaventure Kerre, the elders say the 67-year jail term issued to the legislator was unfair.

In a media briefing at the council’s headquarters in Kamukuywa, Bungoma County, the elders lamented that it was shocking for the judiciary to issue such a long jail term with an option of paying a fine of a huge sum of money.

“As Bukusu elders on behalf of our people and the Luhya community, we are surprised with the ruling that Waluke was issued with. We ask the government that that jail term and fine is too high which we have never seen in the country,” Prof. Kerre said.

Waluke was in June 2020 sentenced to 67 years in jail with an option of paying a Ksh1 billion fine after he was found guilty of corruption charges.

Appeal the decision

This was in relation to a case in which he was accused of defrauding the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) of Ksh297 million.

He appealed the ruling and by the time the August 9, 2022 polls were being held, the case was still active and hence he was allowed to seek re-election.

However, the High Court early in October 2022 upheld the decision after which Waluke surrendered to the court, and returned to jail.

The legislator has since appealed the High Court decision at the Court of Appeal.

But even as the Court of Appeal will be handling the matter, Bukusu elders believe it was not right for the courts to fine Waluke Ksh1 billion, when the case against him was for Ksh297 million.

Case politicized

There has been pressure for the case against the Jubilee legislator to be reviewed, with some politicians claiming it was being used to target individuals that were allied to the Azimio One Kenya Coalition.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, when he spoke in Kakamega on October 31, 2022, during the burial of governor Fernandes Barasa said the ruling was unfair.

“How can you condemn a 55-year-old to 67 years imprisonment? That is akin to jailing Raila for 50 years, is that fair? We want Waluke to be granted bond immediately!” Raila said.

“He was charged for billing and receiving money for services he did not deliver and should have been asked to refund it instead. That case should be done away with in totality,” he added.