The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Friday, February 28, hit back at the Commission for Administration of Justice (CAJ), commonly known as the Office of the Ombudsman, after summons by the latter over failure to publish complaints against the Judiciary.
While threatening to take legal action, the JSC, led by Chief Justice Martha Koome, accused the Ombudsman of overstepping their mandate, citing their lack of jurisdiction to issue summons to an independent body such as the JSC.
“The JSC will take all necessary steps to defend its constitutional authority and will not tolerate any attempts to undermine its independence,” the JSC asserted through a statement.
In the statement signed by JSC Secretary Winfridah Mokaya, the JSC noted that information sought by CAJ over complaints against the Judiciary was already in the public domain, terming the subsequent summons by CAJ as “threats and intimidation.”
“The JSC has repeatedly informed the CAJ that the information it seeks is already publicly available through the JSC Annual Reports and the State of the Judiciary and Administration of Justice Reports (SoJAR), which are published annually and accessible to all Kenyans,” the JSC expressed.
“These reports comprehensively detail the number, nature, and status of complaints and petitions handled by the JSC,” the Commission added.
In what is proving to be a brazen tug of war between institutions within the Judiciary, the Ombudsman had, in a statement released in early February, given CJ Koome and the JSC a 21-day ultimatum to address the complaints against the Judiciary and ordered Koome to publish the complaints.
Consequently, CAJ went on to summon members of the JSC, including CS Koome, Isaac Rutto, Dorcas Odiwuor, Justice Mohammed Ibrahim, and Justice Fatuma Sichale, after the lapse of this ultimatum.
Others summoned were Justice Antony Mrima, Everlyne Olwande, Omwanza Ombati, Caroline Nzilani Ajuoga, and Jacqueline Ingutiah. The ten were to appear between Monday, March 24, and Tuesday, March 25.
Notably, the JSC, while condemning the actions by CAJ, hit out at CAJ Chair Charles Dulo over playing to the public gallery despite being meek while in the presence of CJ Koome.
“It is also noteworthy that during a National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) meeting held on February 19, 2025, chaired by the Hon. Chief Justice, the CAJ Chairperson, Mr. Charles Dulo, did not raise any concerns regarding the Judiciary or the JSC. On the contrary, he apologized to the Chief Justice for his approach to addressing judicial accountability issues and committed to pursuing further collaborative engagement,” JSC remarked.
The JSC added that CAJ’s failure to raise its purported concerns in the NCAJ forum, which was meant to provide a platform for justice sector stakeholders to engage in dialogue and address pending issues, raised serious questions about its motives.
Failure to obey the summons by the Ombudsman carried a fine of Ksh500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
In recent months, the Judiciary has increasingly come under fire, with a section of legal practitioners calling for the resignation of CJ Koome and her fellow Supreme Court judges, accusing them of widespread graft in the judicial system.
This has sparked numerous legal battles between the Supreme Court and other justice institutions as the judges fight to keep their jobs.
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