- Justice Chacha Mwita dismissed the bid saying the court has the powers to hear the case challenging Supreme Court ban on Ahmednasir and his associates.
Image: THE STAR
Milimani High Court in Nairobi has dismissed bid by Supreme Court judges to stop the hearing of a case challenging a ban imposed on Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi.
Justice Chacha Mwita dismissed the bid saying the court has the power to hear the case challenging the Supreme Court ban on Ahmednasir and his associates.
"The issues raised are under the jurisdiction of this court. The court has a duty to determine whether indeed rights and fundamental freedoms in the bill of rights have been violated or denied through the challenged action," he said.
The supreme court judges had asked the court not to entertain the case filed by the senior advocate saying it would be a breach of the court's hierarchy to entertain the matter.
Senior counsel Ochieng Oduol who represents the Supreme Judges had filed an objection to the case saying that once the Apex court has decided on a particular issue and an order issued, the same cannot be the subject matter of supervision by the high court.
But Mwita's ruling now means the case will proceed for a full hearing.
A plea by Oduol to have the court suspend its decision for 30 days was declined by the court.
Supreme Court judges banned Lawyer Ahmednasir from appearing before it on January 18, 2024.
In a statement then, the apex court said the lawyer had "relentlessly and unabashedly... scandalized and ridiculed" it, hence leading to their decision.
"In view of the foregoing, it is the decision of this Court, that henceforth and from the date of this communication, you shall have no audience before the Court, either by yourself, through an employee of your law firm, or any other person holding brief for you," the statement read in part.
The lawyer immediately rebuffed the statement signed by Registrar of Supreme Court Letizia Wachira terming the ban "a badge of honour".
The top court said whilst the decision is bound to affect litigants who had already sought the senior counsel's legal services before the Court, "it is untenable that you would seek justice in the very institution and before the very Judges, whose reputation and integrity you never tire in assaulting".
The court accused the lawyer of conducting a campaign in the broadcast, print and social media accusing it and its judges of corruption, incompetence and outright bribery.
"This, you have done with reckless abandon, paying scant regard to the reputations of those who tirelessly serve on the Court in accordance with their Oath of Office," the court said.
The court said it reached the stern decision because it had previously cautioned the lawyer to tread carefully and restrained itself from taking punitive action against him but he remained unperturbed.
It cited its ruling in the case of Republic v Ahmad Abdolfadhi Mohammed and Anor, SC Petition No. 39 of 2018, which Ahmednasir criticised the court over its verdict.
"You were cautioned that such conduct would in the future, not go unpunished. The caution as recorded in the ruling above, appears not to have had any sobering effect upon you," the court said.
The court pointed out that regardless of his sustained and unsubstantiated attacks against the court and its judges, the lawyer still sees no contradiction in filing cases before it.