Somali Kenyan lawyer wants 4 Kenyan Supreme Court judges sacked

Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi’s law firm will file a petition to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to have four Supreme Court judges removed.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen Television on Wednesday night, Mr Abdullahi said that his firm will file a formal complaint to the JSC in two weeks’ time with evidence linking two Supreme Court judges to graft. He wants two others removed for being incompetent.

The senior counsel’s law firm has protested against the outcome of the Wajir gubernatorial election petition.

“We envisage to file a complete petition for the removal of judges, it will take us two weeks to compile our evidence and witness statements,” said Mr Abdullahi.

He added: “You must file a petition under the Constitution, my client has all the evidence.”

He, however, declined to name the judges they intend to file complaints against.

EVIDENCE

“We have the names of the judges, let’s wait for the petition. Removal of a judge is a constitutional process, therefore it is for my clients to present evidence before JSC which will deliberate and form a committee, if a preface case is found, they’ll recommend a tribunal to be formed,” said Mr Abdullahi.

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the election of Wajir Governor Mohamud Abdi, a ruling which his opponent did not accept.

Wajir Governor moved to the Supreme Court after the High Court and Court of Appeal nullified his election in 2017 on, among other grounds, lack of a university degree which is a prerequisite for those vying for governor’s position.
Of the 27 election petitions taken to the Supreme Court, only two have had the court split in their decision: The first being the presidential election petition and appeal by Wajir governor.

Both cases had four judges with a similar opinion, with two others presenting a dissenting view.

CASH WITHDRAWALS

Lawyers Abdullahi and Omwanza Ombati claim that they have evidence of cash withdrawals from three local banks to facilitate bribery by an MP from North Eastern Kenya.

They have also vowed to expose how the bribery plot involved transactions in Dubai and the sale of property in Eastleigh, Nairobi, as part of the deal.

Lawyer Nelson Havi, who represented Wajir governor, dismissed Mr Abdullahi’s claims.

Mr Abdullahi said that he does not have a problem with losing a case on merit. He said that he will always raise concern if he gets evidence that money was paid out to make him lose a suit.

During the TV show, Mr Abdullahi also defended Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Deputy President William Ruto and Prof. Tom Ojienda.

GRAFT CHARGES

He said that Ms Mwilu should be allowed to continue serving as deputy CJ, despite facing graft charges. He said that the DP should not pay any compensation for the land where Weston Hotel sits.

He said that Dr Ruto was being unfairly targeted. He observed that if the DP is to pay for the disputed land, then everyone else who has illegally acquired land in the past should do so as well.

He dismissed attempts to bar Prof. Ojienda from seeking to sit in the JSC for the second time due to tax issues.

On anti-graft war he said it is not the work of the judiciary to help the executive in fighting corruption.

“You can only fight corruption when you know that the police can do a proper investigation, there is a lot of noise about graft but the fight against corruption needs more than that,” he said.

SOURCES: Daily Nation