Martha Koome petition: How to remove a sitting Chief Justice from office
Mr Michael Kojo Otieno, an ordinary Kenyan, filed a petition before the Judicial Service Commission earlier this week seeking the removal of Chief Justice Martha Koome from office.
In his petition, he claimed CJ Koome was not honest in the execution of powers conferred to her, was neither transparent nor diligent, and that she discriminated against persons who had applied to be members of the board- all these related to tax appeal tribunal appointments she made.
“The actions of the chief justice in the appointment of the tax appeal tribunal are indeed illegal, null and void and hence unfit to hold public office,” read part of the petition.
Nairobi News now delves into the process a petitioner should undergo in getting a judge of a superior court removed from the office. According to Article 168 of the Kenyan Constitution on Removal from Office, such a judge may be removed from office on the grounds of inability to perform the functions of office arising from mental or physical incapacity, a breach of a code of conduct prescribed for judges of the superior courts by an Act of Parliament, bankruptcy, incompetence or gross misconduct or misbehavior.
The first thing a petitioner does is to write to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) setting out the alleged facts constituting the grounds for the judge’s removal. The JSC will then consider the petition and if it is satisfied, it will send the petition to President William Ruto.
Within 14 days of receiving the petition, President Ruto is expected to suspend the judge from office and in the case of the Chief Justice, he will be expected to appoint a tribunal consisting of the Speaker of the National Assembly as chairperson, three superior court judges from common-law jurisdictions, one advocate of fifteen years standing and two other persons with experience in public affairs.
During such a period, the suspended CJ’s salaries and benefits will be slashed in half until when the judge is either removed from office or reinstated.
The tribunal will then investigate the matter expeditiously and make recommendations to the President. If a judge is aggrieved by this tribunal’s decisions, they have 10 days to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Upon receiving the recommendations, the President is expected to act upon them; and then Parliament “shall enact legislation providing for the procedure of a tribunal appointed under this Article.”
CJ Koome and the Judiciary are currently embroiled in a cold war of words with the Executive as President Ruto and his allies have been targeting the Judiciary over their rulings against several government projects found illegal.
Additionally, CJ Koome also gained infamy for the language she used in dismissing a petition filed by opposition leader Raila Odinga in the hotly contested 2022 presidential election in which a difference of about 200,000 votes determined the winner. To date, critics continue to label her ‘Madam Hot Air’ and deride her for her ‘wild goose chase’ comments in dismissing Raila’s petition.
She is the first female Chief Justice in Kenya.
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