It never occurred to me that Judge Maraga's political campaign would be roiled by a sex harassment scandal in which he did not sexually harass anyone. But here we are.
When Judge Maraga announced his intention to seek the Kenyan presidency, few thought that he had a realistic plan. He was not, and doesn't seem to have become, a politician. His only claim to fame was that he had served as Kenya's second chief justice under the 2010 constitution, had presided over a presidential election petition that had annulled a presidential election, and had written to the president directing him to dissolve parliament for failing to give effect to the two-thirds gender rule of the constitution.
His putative presidential campaign started off with visits to court rooms where young Kenyans were being prosecuted, frequently on trumped up charges, or Gen Z rallies where the only notable thing about the rallies was that Judge Maraga chose to attend. His campaign team, staffed by young people and at least one failed politician, was notable for its lack of experience. In the end, Judge Maraga chose not to set up his own political party and instead chose to hitch his wagon to the United Green Party.
The current allegations against Judge Maraga's leadership point to a presidential candidate who still thinks he is in the exploratory stage. His accusers seem o have a had a personal relationship with him and seem to have expected. that the personal relationship would lend weight to their allegations against Judge Maraga's associates whom they accuse of sexual offences.
Only one of the accusers has chosen to reveal her identity, though whose she accuses and what the accusation is remain unsaid. She was at the forefront of the 2024 anti-Finance-Bill protests that ended up in widespread violence at which dozens of Kenyans were killed by police and forced the government to capitulate and withdraw the proposed changes to the tax laws. She would be considered a member of the Gen Z movement and her public profile seemed to be on the rise when she joined Judge Maraga's exploratory committee.
From the initial social media posts by the young people championing Judge Maraga's presidential candidacy, one got the sense that there was a conflation of the professional and personal, and the blurring of lines seemed to have been widespread. The political inexperience of all concerned was apparent. If it was not a sexual harassment scandal, it would be something else that roiled the campaign.
The United Green Party is not known to be a mass movement party by any measure. It has no elated parliamentarians, or other elected officials holding state offices. It does not even appear to have party offices at the grassroots. Barring his occasional appearances at rallies and whatnot, Judge Maraga does not appear to be interested in the presidency. He only seems to be more interested in saying that he intends to stand in the presidential election in 2027.
And the fact that victims of sexual offences within his party are receiving the "go see the HR manager" line, it doesn't even appear like he is interested in building up the internal infrastructure of his political party to help him secure victory at the presidential election. Worse still, he does not appear to have a slate of potential candidates who wish to stand in the elections to parliament, county assemblies or governors' offices. In short, he appears to have bought himself a briefcase and nothing more.
