This archive report was first published on 20 August 2019.
Published on August 20, 2019, a controversy surrounding a building leased out to the Judiciary in 2013 has led to a petition seeking the removal of Chief Justice David Maraga from office.
According to the petition filed before the Judicial Service Commission, Fredrick Obilo alleges that the Judiciary failed to pay rent, parking fees, and service charges for the Elgon Place building, which has resulted in a dispute spilling over to the Environment and Lands Court in 2016.
The lease agreement, signed in 2013, saw the Judiciary lease 47,890 square feet of the building at a monthly charge of Sh5, 845,633, translating to Sh70, 147,605 annually.
Obilo claims that the Judiciary took over the premise on January 1, 2013, for use as the new Court of Appeal premises but failed to pay the accrued rent and parking fees, amounting to USD 1.2 million and Sh22.4 million respectively as at March 31, 2015.
He alleges that the Chief Justice's failure to constitute a bench to hear and determine the pending lease row is a calculated path of abdication of duty and violates the Constitution, the code of judicial conduct, and principles of judicial independence.
Obilo accuses the CJ of failing to put an end to wastage of public funds through the leased premise and failing to help find a speedy resolution to the stalemate, which he argues amounts to gross misconduct warranting the CJ's removal from office.
