Petitioner Wants Three Supreme Court Judges Out of BBI Case Over Bias
A Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) opponent wants three judges of the Supreme Court to recuse themselves on grounds that they will not be impartial.
The petitioner, Isaac Aluochier, wants Justices Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala and Njoki Ndung’u to step down.
Mr Aluochier argued that the matter before the court should be heard by an impartial bench.
He claims that in 2016, he wrote to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) seeking the removal of Supreme Court judges led by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and Justices Phillip Tunoi, Jacktone Ojwang, Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala and Njoki Ndung’u.
Read: AG, IEBC Move to Supreme Court to Challenge BBI Verdict
He accused the judges of breach of code of conduct and gross misbehaviour.
The petition, he said, is yet to be dealt with five years on. He, however, points out that three of the judges have since left the bench but is concerned that the remaining three will not be biased.
He wants the JSC to expedite his petition. He is willing to use Alternative Dispute Resolution to settle the matter that has been pending since 2016.
“The Applicant hereby declares his willingness to resolve the said JSC petition by way of ADR, and expeditiously, in the interests of justice and of the public,” says the petitioner.
Read Also: BBI Secretariat to Challenge Court of Appeal Ruling at Supreme Court
In September, Attorney General Paul Kihara Kariuki and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) moved to the Supreme Court to appeal the BBI ruling.
“Take notice that the Attorney General being dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal given at Nairobi on August 20 intends to appeal to the Supreme Court against such part of the said decision that upheld the findings of the High Court,” read court documents.
IEBC, on the other hand, intends to appeal the Court of Appeal’s findings on constitutional composition, quorum and mandate of the IEBC.
The majority of the judges had ruled that the electoral body was not properly constituted when it verified BBI signatures.
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