This archive report was first published on 2 August 2019.
The High Court in Nairobi has cleared six Judicial Service Commission members of alleged financial impropriety in a Sh51 million allowances scandal that rocked the Judiciary in 2013.
Justice Wilfrida Okwany ruled that Parliament acted illegally and out of ulterior motives when it decided to indict the commissioners. The court found that the commissioners were condemned unheard, despite the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) snubbing an invite by the House's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The case centered around four former commissioners - Supreme Court judge Smokin Wanjala, lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi, Christine Mango, and Rev Samuel Kobia - as well as current commissioners Court of Appeal judge Mohamed Warsame and Makadara Chief Magistrate Emily Ominde.
Justice Okwany ruled that commissioners cannot be personally held liable for actions or decisions made while conducting their duties. This means that they cannot be held accountable for funds drawn, even if illegally.
“Commission did not require the help of the Parliament to look into its own financial problem. The PAC hijacked the process by calling for investigations when a plan to impeach the commissioners hit a dead wall,” Justice Okwany ruled.
President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended the six commissioners in 2013 and appointed a tribunal to investigate their conduct. The decision was made after a majority vote in Parliament on November 7, 2013.
