Supreme Court dismisses Rawal, Tunoi appeal on retirement age

Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal (left) with Justice Philip Tunoi

Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal and Justice Philip Tunoi suffer a big blow as Supreme Court dismissed their appeal on retirement age due to lack of quorum.

Only Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Justice Smokin Wanjala and Justice Mohamed Ibrahim were present to issue the ruling on Thursday morning. Justice Njoki Ndung’u and Justice Jackton Ojwang stayed away.

The two have been battling with the retirement age issues at the corridors of Justice without success as the Court of Appeal dismissed their case.

Rawal and Supreme Court judge Phillip Tunoi suffered a setback after the Court of Appeal dismissed their separate applications to have judges GBM Kariuki and Milton Makhandia out of their retirement case.

A seven-judge bench composed of Justices Kariuki, Otieno Odek, Patrick Kiage, William Ouko, Jamilla Mohammed, Kathurima M'Inoti and Makhandia dismissed the applications and ruled that there was no basis to disqualify the two judges from hearing the retirement age appeals.

Tunoi wanted judges Kariuki and Makhandia out while Deputy Chief justice had an issue with the latter. The complaint by the embattled 72-year-old judge was that Judge Kariuki would be biased over a contempt case back in 1994 where Tunoi had slapped him (Kariuki) with a Sh500,000 fine for disobeying court orders. But the seven judges, in their ruling read by judge Kiage, ruled that for the 22 years that have passed, there is nothing to show that judge Kariuki would revenge in the retirement case. The seven noted that the 70 years question on retirement did not touch Tunoi alone.