A petition seeking the removal of four Supreme Court judges on claims of violation of the Constitutions has been filed.
Confirming the petition, the Judicial Service Commission on Wednesday stated that they had received the suit from Jared Ongeri which was informed by the Wajir gubernatorial petition.
Supreme Court Judges
Justices Mohamed Ibrahim, Jackton Ojwang, Smokin Wanjala and Njoki Ndung’u were named in the petition.
Gross misconduct
JSC stated: “The petition was considered and the Commission directed that the same be served upon the named judges.”
Removing a judge from office involves a long process that might take over a year as the JSC has to finish its investigations and recommend to the President to form a tribunal to investigate the judge’s gross misconduct.
Notably, the removal of a judge may be initiated only by the JSC on its own motion, or by an individual’s petition to the commission.
Tribunal
If satisfied that the petition provides grounds for the judge’s removal, the JSC sends the petition to the President, who within two weeks, suspends the judge and appoints a tribunal to investigate him or her.
Supreme Court judges
The tribunal is expected to inquire into the matter expeditiously and report its findings and recommendations to the President.
If a judge is not satisfied with the tribunal’s decision they may appeal to the Supreme Court within 10 days of the tribunal’s report.