JSC petitions Ruto to form tribunal to probe Judge Mohammed Kullow

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has petitioned President William Ruto to appoint a tribunal to probe Mohammed Noor Kullow, following allegations including gross misconduct.

The commission has received five petitions for the removal of Justice Mohammed, of the Environment and Land Court, on accusations of violating the constitution and the Judicial Service Code of Conduct.

In a statement on Wednesday, Chief Justice Martha Koome said after considering the petitions and conducting its own proceedings, it found grounds to remove Justice Mohammed from office for inordinately delaying or failing to deliver rulings or judgements on a total of 116 matters.

“The Commission was satisfied that three out of the five petitions as well as the proceedings at the Commission's motion had disclosed grounds for the removal of Justice Mohammed from office over gross misconduct, incompetence and violation of the Judicial Service Code of Conduct. Two Petitions were dismissed for failure to disclose sufficient grounds for removal,” Koome said.

“The Commission has Petitioned His Excellency the President to appoint a tribunal in accordance with Article 168 (4) and (5) of the Constitution.”

Judicial Service Commission chairperson and Chief Justice Martha Koome during a press briefing on February 27, 2024. (Photo: Judiciary)

The move comes two months after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal against a graft conviction on former judge Juma Said Chitembwe by a tribunal that recommended his removal from office.

In a ruling delivered in December, Supreme Court Justices Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung'u, Isaac Lenaola and William Ouko upheld the ruling by the tribunal led by Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi.

The Supreme Court at the same time upheld the gross misconduct finding by the tribunal.

The tribunal was formed to determine the allegations of impropriety and misconduct in handling the impeachment case against former Nairobi Governor, Mike Sonko.

It concluded that Chitembwe was unfit for the position and asked President Ruto to dismiss him.

Magistrate's dismissal

Additionally, JSC resolved to dismiss Principal Magistrate Patrick Wambugu due to gross misconduct.

Wambugu was allegedly accused of irregularly altering bond terms that resulted in the release of an accused person who had been charged with defilement of a six-year-old minor.

“The accused person has since jumped bail,” CJ Koome said.

Koome added that the move is part of its responsibility to oversee the conduct of judicial officers and staff, as outlined in Article 172 (2) (c) of the Constitution.

The Commission has also confirmed that since January 2023, it has received 85 petitions and complaints concerning Judges.

This is in line with a statement dated January 15, 2024, where the Commission had pledged to provide regular updates on complaints and petitions received.

Out of the 85, 37 petitions were dismissed, primarily due to lacking merit or touching upon the decisional independence of a judge.

However, the Commission is currently evaluating 30 petitions while 11 are awaiting responses from the Judges concerned.

“Three petitions have been admitted for hearing and four petitions have been forwarded to the President for appointment of a tribunal,” Koome said.

Koome said they also received four disciplinary cases against Judicial Officers from the Office of the Chief Justice.

She noted that one officer was dismissed, one case was closed due to insufficient evidence and two cases are ongoing.

The JSC is mandated under Article 168(2) of the Constitution to initiate the process of removal of a Judge from office either acting on its own motion or on the petition of any person.