Chief Justice Martha Koome on Monday vowed to crack the whip on judges who will be found to have engaged in corruption.
In a press statement, Koome announced plans to open a probe into cases of alleged corruption in the Judiciary after Ahmednasir Abdullahi and PLO Lumumba raised questions on the integrity of some Judges.
While addressing the concerns of lawyer Ahmednasir, the CJ directed that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) would engage with the lawyer.
“I have directed the Secretary of the JSC to deploy an investigative team drawn from the JSC to engage with Ahmednasir Abdullahi, with a view to obtaining particulars of the allegations made on the social media platform X with a view to progressing the complaints to the Commission for action,” CJ Koome directed.
A collage of Chief Justice Martha Koome (right) and Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi (right)
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The Judiciary
Ahmednasir was asked to cooperate with the officers from the JSC to substantiate the allegations so that legal action could be taken against Judges found engaging in corruption.
The Secretary of the Commission was also tasked with informing the public on the progress of the investigations while providing monthly updates on the status of complaints before the JSC.
“He does not identify the judge(s) alleged to be involved in corruption or the purported intermediaries collecting bribes on their behalf,” Koome dismissed the allegations.
The CJ pointed to the case of former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko who made allegations against specific judges which the JSC promptly took action and addressed the claims to their logical conclusion.
Equally, Lumumba had penned a letter to Koome urging action on the Judiciary to uphold the integrity of the arm of the government.
To aid the investigations, Koome forwarded a referenced letter by Prof. PLO Lumumba to the Director General of the National Intelligence Service, the Inspector General of Police, the Director of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for in-depth investigations to enable the JSC to proceed as required by the Constitution and the law.
Koome expressed confidence in JSC to conclusively investigate the allegations. She noted that out of a total of 141 petitions received in 2023/2024 touching on the conduct of Judges, 70 petitions were concluded during the period.
“Seven complaints touching on Judicial Officers were processed and 3 of these complaints, were concluded. The Commission also registered 116 disciplinary cases against staff, the most common of which was absence from duty at 58 complaints. Eleven complaints touched on soliciting and receiving a bribe. Out of these cases, 51 have been concluded.” she added.
PLO Lumumba speaks at a panel discussion in Rwanda in May 2023.
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Kigali Today