There was drama at Supreme Court on Wednesday Night after the Judicial Service Commission failed to pronounce itself on the fate of Judge Njoki Ndung’u, following significant external influence that split their decision.
Journalists who had been called for a press conference in the evening at JCS’s offices in Reinsurance plaza were a frustrated lot after waiting for hours to get a statement but none was forthcoming.
Court officials too had to brave the cold evening as they waited for Chief Justice David Maraga to conclude the meeting, only to appear at 9 pm, acknowledging that the meeting had taken longer than had been planned. He promised to give a comprehensive statement on Thursday.
Reports by Nation indicate that JSC was to decide on whether justice Ndung’u should face a tribunal or not after she failed to appear to respond to claims against her.
Wednesday's debacle was the second after a similar meeting last week ended in a stalemate following the same reasons.
Justice Ndung’u was being probed because she failed to appear before the panel after lawyer Apollo Mboya accused her and other judges of the Supreme Court of “boycotting” work in 2015, protesting the move by JCS to retire Justice Phillip Tunoi, who had attained the mandatory age of 70 years.
However, through her lawyer Andrew Musangi, Justice Ndung’u stated that there was no need to appear before the committee since Mboya had dropped the accusations against her.
Nonetheless, the JSC reprimanded her, a decision both Ndung’u and Mboya protested, forcing them to file petitions before the High Court.
According to Justice Ndung’u, the JSC was acting in concert with Mboya to Orchestrate the proceedings against her.
On his part, Mboya recommended the formation of a tribunal to investigate the judge.
