Ombudsman seeks Supreme Court advisory on summon powers

Commission on Administrative of Justice CEO Mercy Wambua addresses a past press briefing. [File, Standard] Kenya's ombudsman has moved to the Supreme Court seeking advice on whether the government can summon commissioners and county officials whenever there are complaints of unlawful, oppressive, unfair, or unresponsive official conduct. The Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), in its court papers filed by Bond Advocates LLP, says that many complaints against the government, its agencies and officials lie unresolved decades later as they only give 'under consideration or will be implemented' to answer its queries. At the same time, the commission argues that they have presented their compliance reports to the Parliament and, hence, cannot give the required information. "CAJ has the same reporting obligations as all other commissions. Even so, CAJ contends that these reports to Parliament cannot be the sole mechanism for enforcing CAJ directives," argues CAJ lawyer Dudley Ochiel. The Ombudsman claims that courts have held that it has to report to Parliament on non-compliance. However, argued that Parliament does not deal with individual cases such as the one against the Vision 2030 Delivery Board, which was required to compensate a former employee and offer him an apology for mistreatment at work. The Ombudsman asserts that even though its reports are filed in Parliament, they are ignored, adding that no law requires it to file reports to county assemblies on non-compliant counties. "The courts' suggested remedy against obstinate public bodies is ineffectual but has neutered the CAJ. The matter is dire because the Supreme Court is the ultimate court, and its decisions are binding on all other courts and person," says Ochiel. CAJ also states that it summoned the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on February 28, 2025, for allegedly failing to publicise all complaints against judges and magistrates. The ombudsman office further say that it had received 700 complaints of maladministration against the Judiciary. Nevertheless, it saYS that JSC responded, condemning CAJ over its unlawful and unwarranted summon. The Ombudsman argues that the JSC had no powers to issue such demands. "Therefore, CAJ seeks to understand whether it is limited to summoning private individuals or whether it could summon county government officers, state officers, or constitutional commissioners," says CAJ's CEO Mercy Wambua. The Ombudsman argues that there are long-running unresolved complaints against county governments. According to Wambua, complaints are complicated as the law does not provide for reporting to the County Assemblies. At the same time, she argues that Parliament does not directly oversee county governments in areas beyond revenue and expenditure of nationally allocated funds. She cites Mombasa County, which has failed to pay Gertrude Kitemu Sh2 million for her work injury to date, even after the county finance officer committed to paying the amount in two instalments, one in April and the other in August 2024. The other case involved paying Sh3 million to Aga Khan Hospital, which Irene Asha incurred. Wambua said that the county committed to clear the same but renegade. "The dilemma is that the county committed to settling the bill even though the patient was not a county employee. The Chief Finance Officer committed to paying the hospital by the end of April 2024. No payment has been made to date," says Wambua. The other is Kisumu County. She alleges that it had complaints from Constantine Onyango, Jared Otieno, Agnes Bioreri, and Watila Masinde, residents of Kimute Housing Society, all of which had not been resolved to date. Wambua says that the ombudsman sought Attorney General Dorcas Oduor's advice, but she did not give one. CAJ wants the court to determine whether it can summon county government officials and commissions to give information on compliance with the constitution. At the same time, it wants the court to determine whether it can order commissions, state officers or commissioners to provide evidence.

Ombudsman seeks Supreme Court advisory on summon powers

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