Kenya Parliament petitioned over Judicial Service Commission members

By MOSES MICHIRA

A petitioner has asked Parliament to remove six of the 12 members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from office.

This as pressure continues to mount on the embattled Judiciary’s top policy-making organ over a tussle with the Chief Registrar Gladys Shollei.

Riungu Nicholas Mugambi wants Parliament to probe the conduct of the six members including Ahmednassir Abdullahi, Rev Samuel Kobia and Justice Mohammed Warsame, who he accuses of abetting financial crimes in the Judiciary.

The others he wants investigated are Prof Christine Mango, Emily Ominde and Florence Mwangangi.

Mr Mugambi alleges that the six members had been “actively involved in the financial and procurement day- to-day operations of the Judiciary’ even when the Judicial Service Commission did not have such powers.”

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“By signing a resolution directing the police not to arrest and charge Judiciary staff who were alleged to have stolen Sh80 million from Judiciary coffers they willfully interfered with criminal investigations,” claims Mr Mugambi in his petition dated October 4.

The Standard established the petition had been received by the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly.

The six members of the JSC had asked Inspector General of the Police David Kimaiyo to stop investigations and arrest of Judiciary staff involved in the foiled pilferage of Sh80 million from Judiciary’s accounts at CFC Bank.

The theft had been discovered and reported to the police by the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Shollei, who a section of the JSC wants kicked out for supposed insubordination to the Chief Justice Willy Mutunga.

Role limited

He says that the JSC should be independent of the Judiciary as spelt out in the Constitution, which defines some of its roles as merely advisory to persons to be appointed as judges, and recommendations on the welfare of judicial staff.

He says the six JSC members had involved themselves in procurement for the Judiciary ‘purporting to approve or disapprove expenditures’.

Mr Mugambi’s petition comes just days after a Nairobi-based lawyer demanded the sacking of Justice Joel Ngugi over accusations of corruption and involvement in a ‘guerrilla movement’ to oust Mrs Shollei from the Judiciary.