Blow to Chitembwe as court declines his attempt to bar petitions seeking his removal
Justice Said Chitembwe has been dealt with a blow after the High Court declined to grant orders seeking to stop the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from hearing petitions seeking his removal.
Justice Ong’undi noted that the application by Chitembwe is based on an allegation that he was not given sufficient time to respond to accusations levelled against him.
Additionally, he said that granting the order would stop JSC from carrying out its lawful mandate without hearing the respondents.
“That to me is an issue that JSC is able to deal with. I have therefore not been shown any violation of the law to make this court grant the prayers sought by the petitioner at this point,” the court ruled.
According to Justice Chitembwe, the video and audio recordings by former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko on his social media platforms were done without his knowledge or consent.
He also claimed that the petitions for his removal from office and the proceedings by JSC under Article 168 (1) and (2) of the Constitution are based on his private conversations obtained without his consent and in violation of his right to privacy as provided by Article 31 (d) of the Constitution and therefore proceeding on the basis on illegally obtained evidence.
”The petitioner is genuinely apprehensive that the JSC reliance on purported audio and video recordings obtained by the 1st respondents in contravention of the constitution will greatly prejudice the petitioner’s rights to fair administrative action from the JSC,” says Chitembwe.
Chitembwe says that the JSC has not formulated any procedural regulations for the determination of removal of a judge from office.
“As a result of this there is no uniform format for conducting of proceedings which is against the rules of the natural Justice,“ claims Chitembwe.
The hearings will proceed on Tuesday next week as earlier scheduled.
