Supreme Court judge Mohamed Ibrahim reprimanded over capital offence verdict

By Willis Oketch

Mombasa, Kenya: The Court of Appeal has reprimanded Supreme Court judge Mohamed Ibrahim over a capital offence appeal case that he handled as a High Court judge in Mombasa three years ago.

According to the Court of Appeal judges, Justice Ibrahim’s conduct in the case led to a miscarriage of justice as he failed to sign a key judgement.

Ibrahim served as High Court judge in Mombasa for five years before moving to the Supreme Court.

He was briefly removed from the bench for failing to deliver judgements in time. Some of his judgements had been delayed for years.

The Court of Appeal has ordered the re-hearing of two appellants at the Mombasa High Court. They had challenged a death sentence handed to them by a lower court six years ago after they were found guilty of robbery with violence.

Governor

Justice Hannah Okwengu, Justice Milton Makhandia and Justice Fatuma Sichale regretted that the judgement in the records of the appeal before them showed that only Justice Maureen Odero, who presided over the case with Justice Ibrahim, had signed the judgement.

“We note that whereas the judgement was crafted by both judges, only Justice Odero signed it after delivery” said the judges.

 They said in the absence of the other judge’s signature, it could not be said that the judgement was regular, proper or valid.