Judiciary war with Ahmednasir continues as it defends move to seek probe into social media posts
Ahmednasir posted a series of posts on his X account claimed that a Supreme Court judge received a Ksh 4 million bribe
The Judiciary has defended its decision to request the Director of Public Prosecutions to call for investigations into the conduct of Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi, accusing him of “consistently disparaging the Judiciary, its leadership and judges with relentless but baseless claims of corruption.”
In a statement, Judiciary spokesman Paul Ndemo said that through a series of social media posts over the past months, he has made sensational allegations of judicial corruption but he has declined to name the concerned Judges, nor to table a formal complaint with evidence to the Judicial Service Commission or other law enforcement agencies.
“As an institution, we have numerous stated, and reiterate, that we are open to scrutiny and are willing to be held to account. It is in that light that we have consistently urged persons with credible complaints of misconduct to present them for processing through appropriate channels. Despite these calls, SC Ahmednasir has resorted to a campaign to disparage the Judiciary, its leadership and senior Judges without making any formal complaint, leading us to conclude that he does not have any credible information and is simply besmirching the reputation of the Judiciary and its leadership for his own undisclosed ends,” he said.
The move by the Judiciary came after Ahmednasir posted a series of posts on his X account claimed that a Supreme Court judge received a Ksh 4 million bribe from a litigant in a case before a three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal with a promise to render a favourable ruling, which did not happen.
In his latest post, he alleged that after he undertook to demand a refund of the money, the unnamed judge refunded the last instalment of Ksh 1 million at the weekend, adding that what is remaining is his fees.
“This pattern of conduct is not only unbecoming and unprofessional of an advocate with the status of senior counsel, but potentially serves to erode public confidence in the Judiciary and eventually undermine the rule of law which is one of the ideals upon which our constitutional democracy is founded. In the constitutional architecture of democratic states such as Kenya, the Judiciary is established as the last bastion for the realisation and defence of rights and freedoms of all individuals. Judges, Judicial officers and staff work under extremely difficult and constrained environments, if only but to deliver on this constitutional promise. The Judiciary, must therefore, whilst being held accountable, be jealously defended and supported by all well-meaning people,” Ndemo said.
“While we respect the freedom of speech which is constitutionally guaranteed, there are limits to this freedom, and it cannot be abused in a manner that stokes public mistrust in the judicial system. Free speech must be exercised responsibly. Kenya is greater than any single individual. No one is above the law. No one should be allowed to parade their impunity and mock the very Constitution that holds the fabric of this country together,” he added.
“We need not remind Kenyans of what can happen when the general populace loses confidence in the court system. Our country has gone through a traumatizing moment in its history largely due to mistrust in the judicial system, and allegations that can send us back into this painful moment should not be taken lightly. Such misdirected, callous, casual and reckless conduct makes us wonder what the agenda of Mr Ahmednasir is.”
“We therefore reiterate our call to the Director of Public Prosecutions to take appropriate action within his constitutional mandate. We also urge the leadership of the Law Society of Kenya and the Senior Counsel Bar to take such measures as are within their respective mandates to bring discipline and order among its members and specifically SC Ahmednasir, and also restore the dignity of the Bar and the legal profession. Only then shall the Bar and Bench retain the respect and trust that they ought to have for each other and from the public at large,” the statement said.
However, following the request by the Judiciary Chief Registrar Winifridah Mokaya, Ahmednasir criticised the move, saying corruption in the Judiciary must and will continue being called out, loudly and unconventionally.
And reacting to Ndemo’s statement, the prominent lawyer insisted he had not committed any criminal offence to warrant an investigation.
“I went to good law schools. I taught law for decades. I practise law at the very top. I have been a leader of the Bar. I know the law. Recovering Kshs 4 million from a thieving Supreme Court judge IS NOT a CRIMINAL OFFENCE,” he posted.
Ahmednasir and his law firm are already banned from appearing from the Supreme Court over his social media posts.
