A former magistrate is set to smile all the way to the bank after the High Court ordered the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to reimburse him millions of money.
According to a court judgement obtained from Kenyalaw.org dated Friday, November 1, former Senior Principal Magistrate Simon Rotich Ruto was awarded Ksh1.2 million after being dismissed for allegedly showing up at work drunk.
Ruto was interdicted for a period of five months, from September 2, 2016, to February 9, 2017.
The money was the total sum of Ruto's salary that was withheld during his interdiction.
According to Justice Byram Ongaya, the JSC did not follow the rule book while interdicting the magistrate.
Ongaya further explained that the law only allowed the chief justice to take such measures on a senior magistrate.
“The court finds that it was not said that the Office of the Chief Justice was vacant and on the basis of the holding by Radido J, it is clear that the authority to interdict or suspend a judicial officer was at all times vested in the chief justice, to be exercised within the safeguards prescribed in the Third Schedule to the Judicial Service Act, 2011," Justice Ongaya ruled.
At the time, JSC allowed Chief Registrar Anne Amadi to commence charges against him and interdict him.
This prompted Justice Ongaya to rule that the interdiction was irregular, thus earning the former jurist his accrued salaries and benefits.
“To the extent that the interdiction was empty of the requisite authority and was ultra vires, null and void ab initio, the petitioner is awarded the withheld pay during the interdiction, and as prayed for, at Ksh1,275,501," he ruled.
Ruto was interdicted from duty on January 17, 2015, for being habitually drunk during working hours, which compromised the petitioner’s integrity and capacity to perform judicial duty.
The interdiction was however lifted on July 8, 2015, after Ruto was sternly warned against involving himself in acts of gross misconduct or conducting himself in a manner that does not portray proper decorum of an officer of the court.
Ruto was to be transferred to another station for a new environment to prove himself and his performance was to be monitored for the first six months, with a view of ensuring his performance was above board.
The former magistrate had however denied the charges stating that "I performed my duties diligently my record and returns can attest to that fact," after which he was interdicted again on September 2, 2016.
