Former High Court judge Joseph Mutava Mbalu died on Saturday morning in unclear circumstances after a night out with friends.
The soft-spoken lawyer shot to the limelight after he was removed from the Judiciary over a case involving Goldenberg scandal mastermind Kamlesh Pattni.
In March this year, he was once again caught up in bribery allegations involving former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju’s legal battles to save his property.
Those close to him said he was full of life on Friday, August 21.
The Nation has established that medics pronounced him dead on arrival at a private facility in Makindu Township in Makueni County, where his friends had rushed him immediately after he had collapsed in Kibwezi Township early Saturday, August 22.
“We have transferred the body to Lee Funeral Home for preservation,” the MP told the Nation in an interview.
“We stand with Mheshimiwa Jessica Mbalu following the loss of her beloved husband, and the entire Mbalu family as they mourn a man who meant everything to them,” President Ruto said in a statement.
Separately, Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki termed Mutava’s sudden death as shocking.
Before he joined the High Court in 2011, Mutava worked at the Central Bank of Kenya as an assistant legal secretary.
Justice Joseph Mutava follows proceedings at the KICC in Nairobi on 18 April 2016, during the sitting of a tribunal investigating him over the Goldenberg scandal.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
In 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta sacked the soft-spoken lawyer after the Supreme Court upheld a recommendation by a tribunal which investigated his conduct. The tribunal led by former Chief Justice David Maraga had recommended Mutava’s sacking over the role he had allegedly played in the acquittal of Goldenberg scandal mastermind Kamlesh Pattni.
Over the years, he avoided the limelight as he operated a private law company which offered legal consultancy.
When he led the political class in mourning the fallen lawyer, Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka overlooked the stain on his career.
“Justice Mutava served our nation with honor, integrity and quiet distinction. He leaves behind a legacy of service in our judiciary. But it is at home that Mutava will be missed most; as a husband and a father, and it is there that our thoughts and prayers are today,” the former vice president said in a statement.
Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior said Mutava’s legacy remained firmly etched in community development.
“He was a brilliant and soft-spoken man who played a key role in community matters in Kibwezi and Makueni County,” he said in a statement.
