Thirteen lawyers from the firm of Ahmednasir Abdullahi Advocates LLP have now petitioned the Judicial Service Commission for the removal of Chief Justice Martha Koome and all the other six judges of the Supreme Court.
The petitioners want JSC to investigate if there has been any gross misconduct, misbehaviour or breach of the judges’ code of conduct against the seven senior judges.
The lawyers are Asli Osman Mahamud, Peter Gichuru, Irene Koech, Esther Wanga, Cohen Amanya, Khadijah Ali, Elizabeth Mungai, Tony Towett, Mohamed Abdi, Muthoni Gatere, Omar Mwarora, Hilda Ndulu and Jemimah Masudi.
They are all practising under the firm of Ahmednasir Abdullahi Advocates LLP.
They all want Chief Justice Martha Koome, her deputy Philomena Mwilu, justices Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, Isaac Lenaola and William Ouko probed if they are fit to hold office.
They say the judge’s decision to ban senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi and advocates from his law firm from appearing before the court has directly violated their rights as advocates to appear before the superior court.
The Supreme Court on January 18, 2024, banned Ahmednasir and advocates from his law firm from appearing before it in a decision unanimously approved by the full bench.
The judges claimed Ahmednasir had accused the court either in its constitutive persona or individual membership.
The petitioners say Ahmedansir’s comments are relevant to the ongoing discourse surrounding judicial reforms and the need for immediate action.
Further, they say none of the seven judges of the Supreme Court has sued Ahmednasir for defamation.
The petitioners also want the JSC to investigate claims of illegally converting an administrative decision to a judicial decision by recusing themselves from hearing matters where the law firm of Ahmednasir is involved.
They also want the investigation to assess whether the judges waged an unlawful and disproportionate campaign of attrition against Ahmednasir and members of his law firm.
“As a result, the individual actions of the full seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Kenya have had a direct and detrimental impact on the ability of the petitioners to carry out their professional duties to represent their clients before the apex court of the land,” the petitioners said.
The petitioners now want the JSC to establish whether their petition discloses sufficient grounds for the removal of all the seven judges of the Supreme Court.
“The petitioners also seek that the JSC send this petition to His Excellency the President with recommendation for the suspension from office each of the full seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court.”
