Fate of commissioners hangs in the balance as House team summons Judicial Service Commission

By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU

KENYA: The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) will have another date with MPs, this time, to discuss the removal of six commissioners.

The commissioners, Ahmednassir Abdullahi, Samuel Kobia, Christine Mango, Mohammed Warsame, Emily Ominde and Florence Mwangangi, will be forced to appear before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to respond to allegations regarding their fitness to serve in the JSC.

Speaker Justin Muturi (pictured) admitted a petition to the National Assembly seeking to have the commissioners investigated with a view to having them ousted from their seats.

Mr Riungu Nicholas Mugambi filed the petition with the National Assembly on October 4, seeking the concurrence of the House that the named commissioners should be kicked out for “having contravened and violated the Constitution and be removed from office”.

Mugambi, in his petition, says the JSC commissioners encroached on the mandate of the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Gladys Shollei by “purporting to approve or disapprove expenditure of monies allocated to the Judiciary, thereby causing inordinate delay in processing of salaries for judicial staff” contrary to Article 161(2)(c) of the Constitution.

Mugambi also noted in his petition that the commissioners directed payments to be done by persons who are not authorised to do so.

The petitioner also accuses the commissioners of interfering with the job of other independent officers.

“Article 245(4) of the Constitution provides that no person may give directions to the Inspector General of Police with respect to the investigation of any particular offences. The said members of the JSC signed a resolution directing police not to arrest and charge Judiciary staff who were alleged to have stolen Sh80 million from the Judiciary, thereby wilfully interfering with criminal investigations,” noted Mugambi in his petition.