Court Upholds Bench Appointed by CJ Koome in Petition Challenging JSC Proceedings

The High Court has delivered a major boost to Chief Justice Martha Koome after a three-judge bench affirmed that the team appointed to hear a petition related to ongoing Judicial Service Commission (JSC) proceedings was lawfully constituted

The bench Justices Charles Kariuki, Lawrence Mugambi and Bahati Mwamuye ruled that accusations questioning their independence, seniority and the process of their selection were baseless and unsupported by law

They dismissed claims that Justices Mugambi and Mwamuye were handpicked in a manner that compromised their impartiality or reflected undue loyalty to the Chief Justice. The court described the allegations as “sensational” and lacking any legal foundation

The judges emphasized that all High Court judges hold equal status, adding that arguments citing inexperience or lack of expertise were misguided. They concluded that the petitioner had failed to provide any valid grounds to request a reconstitution of the bench

Further, the court held that no appeal had been properly lodged before the Chief Justice, terming the application an improper attempt to revisit matters outside the High Court’s mandate. They noted that revisiting or reassigning the bench would amount to undermining constitutional order

The argument that the Deputy Chief Justice should have handled the empanelment was also rejected. The court relied on the precedent set by the Court of Appeal’s Gachagua ruling, which clarified the lawful process for constituting benches

The judges added that the issue of empanelment was already settled—functus officio—and any complaints should be addressed in the appropriate forum

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In the petition, critics argued that CJ Koome should have recused herself because she is a party to the JSC proceedings under challenge. They also questioned the seniority of two judges appointed to the bench and suggested they might feel indebted to the Chief Justice

However, the respondents countered that the accusations were speculative and lacked evidence, insisting there was no indication the bench would deliver a biased outcome

With the ruling, the High Court has confirmed the legitimacy of the appointed bench, clearing the way for the substantive hearing on the challenges raised against the JSC proceedings