EACC rubbishes reports that it sent detectives to the office of lawyer John Khaminwa

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has dismissed reports that it sent any police officers to the office of lawyer John Khaminwa in an alleged attempt to intimidate him over his submissions in the BBI appeal case.

EACC, in a statement released on Sunday, said it did not even conduct any operation on Saturday when the reports emerged hence declaring them null and void.

“EACC wishes to notify the public that it did not conduct any operation yesterday and media reports suggesting that EACC visited the offices of John Khaminwa Senior Counsel are unfounded,” said the commission.

This comes after Khaminwa, who was part of the battery of lawyers that represented respondents in the BBI appeal case, on Saturday claimed he had received threats from individuals claiming to be police officers.

He said two individuals purporting to be officers from the EACC visited him on Saturday morning in what appeared to be an attempt to intimidate him.

The seasoned lawyer said the mysterious visit could have been linked to the scathing submission he gave on Friday that, according to him, captured the attention of some powerful individuals.

Although he did not mention names, Khaminwa believes that his comments on the last day of submissions in the Court of Appeal may have rattled some influential quarters.

“They claimed that they were from the anti-corruption agency but I doubted them, they did not impress me as human beings who are holding State offices. What surprised me was that they also asked for some money from one of my assistants,” he said.

A spirited Khaminwa, while making a submission in the Court of Appeal on the BBI case on Friday, said: “When you have a president who is not obeying court orders; when you have a president who is demeaning judges before the public, this court must stand firm and tell him ‘No, we shall not hear you, we shall not give you orders at all.’”

The 84-year-old said he had a feeling that the said officers who visited him were sent by a higher authority possibly in connection with his statements in the court.

“I made strong submissions before the Court of Appeal, I still stand by those submissions. Surprisingly, this case has shown me how the entire world is like a small village,” he said.

Khaminwa, who boasts over 5 decades experience as a practicing lawyer, was careful not to disclose any names in the allegations, but referred to past cases that drew such threats.

“The other sensitive matter I handled was the one of Kenneth Matiba…when we went to see Matiba to see whether we could get him out on a police bond, but then were told that according to instructions from the top, I should be picked up and detained…and I was indeed detained,” he stated.

The 7-judge bench hearing the BBI appeal case has said it will take 50 days to make a ruling and will deliver the judgement on August 20, 2021.