This archive report was first published on 18 August 2020.
WIN FOR MAGISTRATES AS COURT CLIPS CJ POWERS TO INTERDICT THEM ¶
On November 19, 2019, Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Maureen Onyango made a landmark ruling that has brought relief to magistrates and other judicial officers in Kenya.
The court ruled that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is the only body that can receive complaints against and discipline magistrates and other judicial officers, limiting the Chief Justice's power to interdict them.
According to the ruling, indefinite suspension of magistrates and judicial officials is wrong and should be for a specific period. The court also ordered that those on interdiction should be paid half their salary while those on suspension should be paid alimentary allowance.
The decision is a big win for magistrates and other judicial officers who have been feeling frustrated with the Chief Justice's powers to interdict them without affording them a hearing as required by the constitution.
Kenya Judges and Magistrate Association (KMJA) Secretary General Derrick Kuto welcomed the decision, saying it forms a threshold for further engagement with JSC over the emotive issue of discipline.
Lawyer Danstan Omari also hailed the decision, saying magistrates are entitled to the protection as provided by the constitution and the law.
KMJA had challenged the powers of the Chief Justice to interdict magistrates and other judicial officers, arguing that the provisions of the Judicial Service Act, 2011, unreasonably and unconstitutionally empower the Chief Justice to interdict, suspend, and reprimand its members without reference to the JSC.
The association also argued that the delegation of powers to the CJ to interdict, suspend, and reprimand them is inconsistent with Article 172 of the Constitution as read together with Section 14, 20, and 32 of the Judicial Service Act, 2011.
