CJ Koome Allows Consideration Of Removal Of Supreme Court Judges
The Supreme Court judges under fire are pushing back against multiple petitions questioning their integrity, some filed by former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
Chief Justice Martha Koome has formed a three-judge bench to hear petitions challenging the removal of five Supreme Court judges.
On Tuesday, May 6, she named Justice Charles Kariuki as the presiding judge, joined by Justices Bahati Mwamuye and Lawrence Mugambi.
The Supreme Court judges under fire are pushing back against multiple petitions questioning their integrity, some filed by former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi.
In his filings, Havi accuses the court of taking on appeals that lack serious public interest, especially in major commercial cases, hinting at possible corruption and abuse of judicial power.
Back on April 10, Justice Mwamuye rejected an attempt by Havi, Ahmednasir Abdullahi’s allies, and Dari Limited (linked to ex-Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju) to toss out petitions filed by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu and Justice Mohamed Ibrahim.
Instead, Mwamuye agreed with the DCJ and Justice Ibrahim that the case raised fresh constitutional questions worth a broader judicial review. He then passed it on to CJ Koome for a bench to be set up.
The court has also ordered the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to hold off on hearing or acting on the petitions until the case is resolved.
Havi and other lawyers argue Koome shouldn't be picking the bench since she’s personally involved, suggesting a conflict of interest that could undermine the case’s fairness.
CJ Koome, along with Justices Njoki Ndung'u, Isaac Lenaola, William Ouko, and Smokin Wanjala, had already gone to the High Court to challenge how the JSC was handling the push to remove them.
The newly formed three-judge panel will now take up the petitions in what could be a game-changing decision on the CJ's future and the tenure of Supreme Court judges.
The removal of the Supreme Court judges attracted significant attention, particularly within political circles. In January this year, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua claimed a plot to disband the Supreme Court ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to Gachagua, President William Ruto's government has been keen on disbanding the Supreme Court ahead of the next elections. Gachagua further claimed that a budget had already been set aside for the scheme.
“There is even a bigger scheme to dismantle the Supreme Court ahead of the 2027 elections. A budget has been set aside through the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and all those petitions you are seeing against Martha Koome and judges of the Supreme Court are the machinations of the state,” Gachagua stated.
Gachagua argued that the end goal is to set up a bench that will act in favour of the executive. “They would like to put a supreme court bench that is amiable to what those in power want. We can not accept. We want to ask the international community to keep an eye on Kenya," he continued.
