Kenya: High Court Quashes JSC Notices Against Seven Supreme Court Judges

What the report says

Kenya’s High Court has invalidated notices issued by the Judicial Service Commission that required seven Supreme Court judges to answer complaints linked to possible removal from office. The ruling, reported by Capital FM and distributed by AllAfrica, said the commission should have carried out a preliminary review of the petitions before moving to a response stage.

A three-judge bench in Nairobi found the JSC’s notices, communications and related directions unconstitutional and void. The affected judges include Chief Justice Martha Koome, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, and Justices Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, Isaac Lenaola and William Ouko. One of the petitions was filed by former Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi. The court said the commission handled the complaints as a group rather than assessing the allegations against each judge individually.

The judges had argued that they were entitled to a proper screening process and clearer notice of the specific constitutional grounds being relied on. The High Court agreed that the JSC needed to determine first whether each complaint met the threshold for removal under Kenya’s Constitution, and that the notices did not sufficiently set out the factual basis for the allegations. The court also said the commission had not shown that its decision was properly made through a convened meeting.

The ruling stops the JSC from taking further steps based on the same complaints, while reaffirming that the commission still has authority to receive and consider complaints against judges, provided it follows constitutional and administrative law requirements.