Philomena Mwilu Biography
Justice Philomena Mwilu full name is Philomena Mbete Mwilu.
She was born in Makueni County, Kaiti division, Kilala location. She is the Deputy Chief Justice of the Kenya Supreme Court. She has had a long career in the Kenya Judiciary which spans for over 32 years.
Justice Philomena Mwilu has succeeded retired justice Kalpana Rawal as the third Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice.
Philomena Mwilu Educational Background
Justice Philomena Mbete Mwilu graduated from the University of Nairobi and was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya in 1984.
Philomena Mwilu Job History, Judicial Career
- 1984 – 1991: Philomena Mbete Mwilu began her judicial career by practising law in the firm of Muthoga Gaturu & Company and later went to Mutunga & Company Advocates.
- June 1991 – April 1997: Justice Philomena Mwilu thereafter worked at Jubilee Insurance Company Ltd as a senior legal manager.
- 1999 and 2001: Board secretary at the Electricity Regulatory board
- 2006 – 2007: The deputy chairperson of the Energy Tribunal.
- 2007: Director of the Board of Nairobi Water and Sewerage company and later as chair of the Legal and Human Resource Committees of the Board before she joined the Judiciary
- She first served in the Commercial Division in Nairobi and later transferred to the High Court in Eldoret.
- She was later transferred to Nairobi where she served at the Criminal Division and later headed the Environment and Land Division of the High Court, between February and December 2011.
- In January 2012, she was appointed the head of the Environment and Land Division of the High Court and in November of the same year, she was elevated to the Court of Appeal
Philomena Mwilu Background
Justice Philomena Mwilu has a legacy of paying attention to issues pertaining the welfare of her colleagues. While working at Eldoret High Court, she noticed that a number of magistrates had a drinking problem and so she initiated counselling and bonding sessions with judicial officers to assist them.
During her vetting period, Justice Philomena Mwilu was accused by Kandara MP Alice Wahome of incompetency and corruption. MP Alice Wahome had filed a petition with the Justice and Legal Affairs committee, claiming that the judge was incompetent and corrupt.
But Justice Mwilu told the committee that the claims by Alice Wahome emanated from a ruling in an International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) case challenging the appointment of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which Wahome lost. Ms Mwilu said since the MP, who is also a lawyer, lost the case in 2011, she had been on a mud-slinging mission against her.
MP Alice Wahome also claimed that Justice Mwilu had received money to dismiss an election case in which she (Wahome) had contested the election of her predecessor, Maina Kamau. But Mwilu denied the allegations, saying she had never received a bribe. The case has not been settled to date and Wahome accused the judge of incompetence. The judge however pointed out that the MP had walked out of the court when she was meant to testify.
Justice Mwilu admitted there were rampant cases of sexual harassment within the courts and that she had been a victim of the same.
Justice Philomena Mwilu supports Polygamy
During an interview by the JSC, Justice Philomena Mwilu said she supported polygamy “as long as there is peace in the family.”
Philomena Mwilu Husband
Amos Wako, born on born 31 July 1945, publicized how they met with Deputy Chief Justice, Madam Philomena Mwilu. At a front bench, Catholic. She beat 15 other candidates to emerge victorious in the pursuit for Kenya’s next Deputy Chief Justice to replace Lady Justice Kalpana Rawal a few years earlier.
Philomena Mwilu and Amos Wako
Amos Wako, a father of two, met and fell in love with Philomena Mwilu, a mother of three, in 1997, the year Kenya held it’s second multi-party elections. Wako had been Kenya’s Attorney General for six years. when retired President Moi appointed him to the oppsition on May 13, 1991, he said he was “dumbfounded”
Philomena Mwilu Marriage
But Wako was not yet ” dumbfounded” until he set his eyes on Mwilu who by then was working as head of legal department of Jubilee Insurance Company. They met over some issues that were affecting Mwilu at her company, some milions had been stolen and Mwilu had sought help from the Attorney General to have the culprits brought to book, recalls a personal friend of the two.
Philomena Mwilu Family
She is a mother of three children
Philomena Mwilu Age
To be updated soon.
Philomena Mwilu Video
Philomena Mwilu and Imperial Bank Case
Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu sold the two parcels of land in Nairobi that she reclaimed from Imperial Bank where they had been used as security for a Sh60 million loan, court filings have now revealed the documents Justice Mwilu has filed in court to indicate that, after recovering the properties through a process that has now landed her in trouble, she sold the land for an undisclosed amount.
The criminal cases revolve around 10 pieces of land that Justice Mwilu acquired. She still owns seven of the properties. It has been established that three of the parcels are worth Sh231 million, based on the stamp duty she has been accused of evading. The judge says she is unable to produce title deeds for two of the land parcels (reference numbers 330/634 worth at least Sh61 million and 3734/1297 worth at least Sh90 million).
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji says the judge fraudulently recovered her properties from the bank after she “induced” KDIC CEO and Imperial Bank receiver manager Mohamud Mohamud in the pretext that she would substitute them with another piece of land.
While Mr Haji claimed a potential conflict of interest, he left it to the court to decide whether to allow them in the case. Justice Mwilu is represented by 34 lawyers and her co-accused, Mr Stanley Muluvi, is represented by nine.
In response, Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi said it would not be practical for all 44 lawyers to address the court.
The magistrate said only three advocates had so far addressed the court on behalf of Justice Mwilu and only one for Mr Muluvi.
Mr. Haji, through Ms. Oduor, said the order is still wrong because it refers to “a petitioner in the criminal case before Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi” yet Justice Mwilu is only a petitioner in the High Court case. Ms Oduor, however, allowed the order to stand.
