Justice Bosire wants review of vetting in public

By Isaiah Lucheli

A Court of Appeal judge who was sacked by the Judges and Magistrates Vetting board wants a review of the verdict conducted publicly.

Justice Samuel Bosire wrote to the board requesting that his review be conducted in public but the vetting board has not yet come up with the final decision whether it would comply with the request.

Bosire, whose vetting was conducted in private, was found to be unsuitable to continue serving as a judge due to the way he handled the Goldenberg cases when he was the chairman of the commission.

He was faulted for failing to summon senior government officials who had been adversely mention during the sittings of the commission.

The board announced yesterday that four judges who were found unsuitable to continue serving have sought a review of the board’s decision would know their fate next week. The four are are Bosire, Emmanuel O’Kubasu, Riaga Omollo and Joseph Nyamu.

According to the vetting board chairman Sharad Rao the board had finalized applications for review by the four judges.

The application for the review would be conducted from next week and the final verdict that would see the board either reverse its decision against some of the sacked judges would be released on Friday next week.

“We hope also to hear the application for review filed by the four judges of the court of appeal who were declared unsuitable,” said the chairman in a statement.

Rao made the remarks when the board resumed the vetting exercise after parliament amended the rigid time lines that had led to the halting of the vetting process.

The first judge to be vetted yesterday was appellate Judge Kalpana Rawal. Rawal would be followed by Wanjiru Karanja and Jessie Lessit.

“We will thus have interviewed 10 more judges in addition to the nine judges of the Court of Appeal; and have finalized four applications for review by Friday July 20 and we hope to announce our determination on that day at 10 AM,” said Rao.

On whether Bosire had sought a public review of the verdict reached by the board, the board’s Chief Executive Officer Reuben Chirchir confirmed but added that the board was yet to make its decision.

He added that the judges were not required to appear before the board for the review of the cases adding that they would be represented by their lawyers who would present written submissions.