This archive report was first published on 15 July 2019.
On Monday, a tribunal investigating the conduct of Supreme Court Judge Jackton Ojwang' began its sittings at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, with 22 witnesses lined up to testify.
The tribunal, chaired by Court of Appeal judge Alnashir Visram, was formed following allegations of a close association between the judge, Migori County government, and its Governor Okoth Obado.
According to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Justice Ojwang' was suspended on April 2, after two complaints were filed against him. Instead of appearing before the JSC to defend himself, the judge opted to send his lawyer Nani Mungai to represent him.
Justice Ojwang' is accused of gross misconduct, impropriety, conflict of interest, and breach of judicial code of conduct. The allegations stem from a case involving Governor Obado, in which the judge authored a judgment regarding the Sony Sugar belt and was allegedly rewarded by the governor, who refurbished the road to the judge's private home in Migori County.
On July 15, 2019, the JSC recommended to President Uhuru Kenyatta the formation of a tribunal to investigate Justice Ojwang's conduct. The tribunal's sittings are being held in private, meaning the media and the public will be kept out of the hearings.
