Maraga's UGM party responds to sexual harassment claims by ex-staffer Shakira

In a statement on Wednesday, June 3, the party defended its handling of the matter and rejected claims that its flagbearer, former Chief Justice David Maraga, sidelined women after complaints were raised.

Shakira came forward with her accusations after Maraga attended the June 1 End Femicide demonstrations on Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi, prompting her to question his fidelity to the cause of the safety of women in the country after he, according to her, disregarded her earlier reports of sexual harassment from his party's senior official.

"On a day meant for us to grieve and send a message to the world to protect women and children, the sight of someone who should have protected women, and had failed to do so, broke something in me," she wrote.

She later doubled down on her dissatisfaction, writing, "Maraga arriving at the matriarch’s grief sit-down with flowers and a clear desire to command attention is deeply distasteful. Coming from someone whose campaign sidelined women after mishandling sexual harassment allegations, the optics are particularly troubling. Some moments call for humility, not political theatre."

Within hours, Wafula, who had resigned from Maraga's presidential campaign in November 2025 citing what she then described as differences in foundational values, would go on to post an account of events on X.

In meticulous chronological detail, she disclosed that the real reason she left was the campaign's handling of sexual harassment and assault allegations involving two senior officials close to the campaign leadership, and what she called a systematic effort to gaslight complainants, sideline them from campaign activities, and engineer a party process from which the accused emerged practically untouched.

The crisis, she alleged, traces its origins to October 7, 2025, when Wafula met with two other women from the campaign for dinner in Nairobi, where she had gone to share frustrations about the campaign's direction.

What emerged, she says, was far more alarming: a recognition across the table that sexual harassment within the campaign was not an isolated incident.

Wafula wrote that she would later discover that UGM had no formal mechanism for women to report misconduct, had no designated safe contact, and no written protocol for handling complaints.

In response, UGM outlined a timeline of events surrounding the sexual harassment allegations and what transpired during the critical days after investigations began.

It said that on October 11, 2025, Wafula and two other women met virtually with a senior campaign member and orally raised allegations against a senior UGM official. 

The meeting ended with an agreement that two additional campaign members would be included in a follow-up session.

After they selected the two persons, the Campaign Secretariat contacted the aggrieved persons on October 13, 2025, to agree on a convenient date to expeditiously hear the allegations, as is the party's practice.

"The aggrieved persons were, however, unavailable until October 16, 2025, when the follow-up meeting was held," the statement read.

The party said the three complainants and their aide later met with campaign representatives and discussed possible legal options.

They were advised to file formal complaints in writing.

"In line with UGM Party provisions, they were requested, and agreed, to formally file their individual complaints of alleged sexual harassment in writing. They did not. Instead, they sought and got the audience of Hon. Maraga on 22 October 2025, and demanded the immediate suspension of the alleged perpetrator without a hearing based on unwritten allegations.

"Maraga, having listened to their allegations, also requested them to present their individual written complaints for due processing. They failed to do so," the statement added. 

UGM said that after reminders from the campaign secretariat, the complainants eventually submitted a joint written complaint on November 3, 2025. 

The complaint was acknowledged and forwarded through party structures, leading to the establishment of an Ad-Hoc Complaint Committee by the National Executive Committee on November 16, 2025.

The party said the complainants and the accused official were notified that the complaint would be heard on November 26, 2025.

"Ms Shakira Wafula did not acknowledge receipt of that notice, and instead she resigned on the same day (17th November 2025), citing outsourcing of the complaint to the UGM Party and alleged delays," the statement further read.

UGM maintained that despite her resignation, the complaint process continued in accordance with the party constitution.

Nevertheless, the statement reads, the hearing of the complaint was held on 26 November 2025 by the Ad-Hoc Complaint Committee as scheduled. Shakira Wafula refused to attend despite follow-ups with her to give her testimony. She categorically informed the Committee that she was no longer interested in pursuing the complaint.

"The Ad-Hoc Committee, upon hearing the remaining complainants and the alleged perpetrator, found no evidence to support the sexual harassment allegations," the statement noted.

The party said Wafula was later furnished with the committee's report despite not participating in the hearing, adding that she remained free to pursue other legal remedies if dissatisfied with the outcome.

Meanwhile, UGM pointed out that the allegations were never directed at Maraga himself.

The party said Maraga neither appointed the committee nor interfered with its proceedings, insisting that the internal process was conducted independently and according to party rules.

"Note that the sexual harassment claims were not made against the Hon. David Maraga. His audience was sought and granted, and he directed the complaints be handled in accordance with due process mechanisms of the Party.

"It is therefore malicious, unfair, dishonest and misdirected for Ms. Shakira Wafula to attempt to publicly malign and soil the character of the Hon. Chief Justice Emeritus, having refused to participate in the internal due process or pursue other legal options as she was advised to do since the 11th of October, 2025, when she first raised the matter," the statement explained.

UGM also defended Maraga's participation in the anti-femicide protest, saying his attendance was consistent with his public and private support for victims of injustice and grieving families.

The party accused Wafula of conducting a campaign aimed at damaging Maraga's reputation.

"For reasons best known to her, Ms Shakira Wafula has elected to engage in a public disinformation, character assassination, and defamatory campaign against Hon. Maraga, and to demand arbitrary retribution to the alleged perpetrator contrary to the rule of law and due process, which both Maraga and the UGM party firmly believe in.

"We shall not be distracted from our quest for Kenya's Ukombozi by engineered political drama. True accountability against perpetrators of sexual offences is not about melodrama, clout chasing or engagement farming on social media, but taking responsible steps to enforce the law, including taking part in due processes and applying the law fairly," the statement concluded.