A Kenyan MP has moved to court to have the Chief Justice removed from office

david nganga

September 14, 2017 2:49 PM

The MP wants CJ David Maraga investigated saying that he exercised a “judicial coup” by annulling the presidential election.

A Kenyan lawmaker has moved to court to have the country’s Chief Justice David Maraga removed from office.

Nyeri town Member of Parliament Ngunjiri Wambugu on Thursday morning filed a petition with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the employer of judges and magistrates.

Mr Wambugu wants the JSC to investigate the conduct of Judge Maraga since his appointment as Chief Justice, saying that the CJ exercised a “judicial coup” by annulling the presidential election.

In the 14-page petition, Wambugu claims Judge Maraga has been held captive by a group of Non-Governemntal Organizations (NGOs) who have been campaigning against Mr Kenyatta's presidency since 2013.

He alleges that Justice Maraga has allowed the non-profits to be embedded in the Judiciary and has been funding a number of programmes, including technical support and training at the Judicial Training Institute.

The MP stated that there is evidence that Maraga exerted undue pressure on the rest of the judges to make the judgement they did.

According to the Constitution, the Chief Justice can be removed from office only on the grounds of inability to perform duty due to mental or physical health, a breach of conduct, bankruptcy, incompetence or gross misconduct.

Article 168 of Constitution says that the removal can be initiated only by the Judicial Service Commission acting on its own motion, or on the petition of any person to the commission.

The commission, if satisfied with the grounds raised in the petition, shall inform the President in writing, leading to the formation of a tribunal consisting of Speaker of the National Assembly, three superior court judges, an advocate and two other persons to investigate the judge.

Mr. Wambugu’s petition comes as Kenyans eagerly await the full judgement of the Supreme Court, which annulled the re-election of President Kenyatta.

The head-of-state has since been on an incessant attack on Mr. Maraga and his colleagues, calling them 'crooks' and saying the Judiciary needed to be 'fixed.'

david nganga