Former High Court Judge Justice Joseph Mbalu Mutava, aged 75, is dead.
Family members said Mutava collapsed at their rural home in Kithasyu and was taken to Makindu Subcounty Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Mutava had attended a burial ceremony earlier on Friday, August 21 and was reportedly in good health before he suddenly fell ill later that night.
His body was subsequently moved to Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi as the family made arrangements for his burial.
Several leaders sent messages of condolence following his death, including Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
Kalonzo eulogised Mutava as a man who served with honour and quiet distinction.
Former Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama also mourned the former judge, describing him as a long-standing family friend.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my long-time family friend, Former High Court Judge Justice Joseph Mbalu Mutava,” Muthama said.
Mutava was married to Kibwezi East Member of Parliament (MP) Jessica Nduku Mbalu.
He was appointed to the High Court on August 23, 2011, following a competitive recruitment process recommended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). He later served at the Milimani Commercial Courts.
His judicial career came to an end in 2016 following a tribunal investigation into allegations of gross misconduct arising from his handling of the Ksh5.8 billion Goldenberg scandal case involving businessman Kamlesh Pattni.
The tribunal, chaired by then Chief Justice David Maraga, found Mutava guilty of gross misconduct on six allegations in September 2016 and recommended that he be removed from office.
Mutava challenged the tribunal's decision, but the Supreme Court upheld the findings in March 2019, paving the way for his removal from the High Court bench.
His death brings to an end the life of a prominent legal practitioner whose relatively brief tenure as a High Court judge became one of the shortest in Kenya's judicial history.
