Havi appeals decision to bar JSC from removing Supreme Court judges

Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi has moved to the Court of Appeal seeking the reversal of High Court orders halting the process begun by the Judiciary Service Commission on the petitions filed to remove Supreme Court judges.

In his appeal, Havi challenges that the removal of the Chief Justice together with the six Supreme judges, is constitutional and should not be stopped.

He states that the aggrieved parties can only challenge the outcome of the JSC proceedings.

“Justice Mugambi erred in failing to hear and determine my challenge on the jurisdiction of the High Court before taking any other further steps in the proceedings in respect to the claim before him,” Havi stated.

“He also erred by consolidating the claim before him with the six others notwithstanding the constitutional dichotomy under Article 168(5) (a) and (b) of the Constitution between the process of removal from office of the CJ and the six judges,” he added.

Havi is challenging the decision by Justice Mugambi to prioritise the hearing of an application to have the file forwarded to the CJ to empanel a three-judge bench to hear the case.

His appeal comes after the high court issued interim orders stopping the Judiciary Service Commission from proceeding with the petition to remove Martha Koome and the other six judges until the case before them is heard and determined.

Mugambi directed that the bench be expanded, a move that Lawyers Nelson Havi and Ahmednasir Abdullahi openly disagreed with even as he extended the orders barring JSC from hearing the said petitions and directed that an application for the formation of a bench to hear the case be heard on the 28^th of this month.

A petition was filed at the JSC seeking the removal of the seven judges of the supreme Court by several petitioners, including Havi and Ahmednassir over alleged misconduct by the Apex court judges.