Former Chief Justice David Maraga has dismissed the petitions filed for the removal from office of his successor Martha Koome and other six Supreme Court judges as acts of dishonesty for political gain.

 “If those petitions are addressed by the authorities that have been given that power, the problem will be solved and we will not have any problem at all. So it is a question of dishonesty for personal gain or to assist others to achieve their personal gains or political gains,” Maraga said. 

Maraga was non-committal whether he will vie for the presidency or not.

Speaking during the People Dialogue Festival at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Maraga accused the legislature and the executive arms of government of interfering with the independence of the judiciary and encroaching its line of operation as stipulated in the constitution.

“We have a good constitution but the problem we have is that people don’t want to do what is required. In a democracy you need the judiciary, the legislature, the executive as well as independent commissions to play their role and operate within their spheres of influence,” he added.

Three petitions

On Wednesday, the High Court extended conservatory orders barring the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from proceeding with three petitions seeking the removal of Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Martha Koome, over alleged misconduct, incompetence and misbehavior until March 28.

In a fresh reprieve for CJ Koome and her fellow Supreme Court judges, the new orders would see the date for hearing the case extended after previous orders had put the hearing date at March 12.

The new development came after the High Court had on February 21 issued the orders barring the JSC from considering the petitions against the besieged head of the Judiciary and her colleagues.

The ruling, issued by Justice Lawrence Mugambi, came two days after a Narok court had issued similar orders.

The other judges of Supreme Court are Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Mohammed Ibrahim, Njoki Ndung’u, Smokin Wanjala, Isaac Lenaola and William Ouko, who are all at the High Court fighting the JSC process.

Unanimous decision

The ouster petitions originated from a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court judges in January last year to ban lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi over his social media posts regarding the top court.

The ban also extended to other lawyers working at Ahmednasir’s law firm-Ahmednasir Abdullahi Advocates LLP.

This triggered complaints by lawyers Nelson Havi and Christopher Rosana alleging incompetence and misconduct by the entire bench. The duo separately asked the JSC to remove the entire bench from office.

Asked if he would vie for the presidency in 2027, former Chief Justice David Maraga remained non-committal.

“I want to ask you: which type of leader would you want to have? The state of the country is bad…It’s open for everybody to see that the resources are being plundered, right left and center. The leadership that is required is one that is accountable to the people. The leadership we need is one who understands that when you are in a position of leadership, you are just a trustee of the people.”

Maraga, said he would stamp out corruption and ensure rule of law is obeyed if he were president. He singled out graft as one of Kenya’s biggest issues.

“If I was given the opportunity to govern this country, I would get everyone to obey the law. Everything would fall in place. The problem we have is corruption.”

Meanwhile, the Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu has proposed legal reforms requiring parties to form coalitions only after elections.

 Nderitu cited lack of legal framework to regulate coalitions, adding that the parties have accused her of interfering with their right of association, as she attempts to manage post-election realignments.

IEBC Deputy Chief Executive Officer Ruth Kulundu said the voter register is up to date following various audit exercises that have been conducted in the past to strike out dead voters and rectify other anomalies.

 Kulundu added that the commissioner is upbeat about the boundaries review, targeting to complete the exercise by August 2026, factoring in any court cases that may arise from disgruntled parties.

Other speakers warned that the country is at a risk of witnessing a repeat of the aftermath of the 2007 elections in 2027 following delays in reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and enacting requisite reforms.

During the second day of the ongoing People Dialogue Festival at Uhuru Park, attendees raised concerns that the electoral sector is ill prepared to conduct credible elections two and a half years before the polls.

In responses, experts agreed with the sentiments, emphasizing that it is already late to reconstitute a fresh team of IEBC commissioners given the high stake attached to Kenyan elections.

“We are late. We are now reconstituting IEBC mid-term. We are exactly two and a half years to the general elections. We have done two and a half years. It’s a mid-cycle, and yet the substantive commission has not been put in place,” Electoral Law and Governance Institute for Africa (ELGIA) Executive Director Felix Owuor said.

Owuor further stated that the majority of the electoral reforms anchored in the bills that emanated from the National Dialogue Committee (Nadco) report in 2023 might not be actualized within the 18-month deadline before 2027 elections.

“Whereas Parliament, and thanks to the Justice Committee of both houses, have made expedited the legislations, except the IEBC Amendment Act, all the nine NACO bills are yet to be fully passed. And so whether we will be able to meet the 18-month deadline is something that we need to consider,” he added.

The Elections Amendment Bill, Political Parties Amendment Bill, Election Offences Amendment Bill, and Statutory Instruments Amendment Bill are currently in the National Assembly.

The National Assembly has already passed the EACC Amendment Bill while two other bills that proposed the establishment of the position of Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition were deferred as they needed amendment in the Constitution.

Consequently, Owuor warned that the 2027 elections have comparable risks with 2007 polls over the quagmire shrouding the electoral sector, which might undermine the management of results and worsened by reckless utterances by politicians.

“What do you expect to have when the political elite have already declared that in 2027, they will win at all costs, even if it means stuffing the ballot?” he posed.

He pointed out that there is an urgent need to fix the integrity of the election, which includes counting, tabulation, transmission, and declaration of results.

“In 2022, the two functionalities of the Kenya Integrated Electoral Management Systems (KIEMS) kit were never done. That is the electronic tabulation of transmission of results. We uploaded the form 34 in the portal, but we did not electronically transmit,” Owour explained.

“That is why the results took six days out of the seven, because there was no electronic transmission. Electronic transmission is expected to tabulate results in real time, so it was never there in 2022. And the other feature of Kim’s that was never activated was the results display system.”

Owuor added: “If we don’t consolidate our elections in 2027, then my fear is, given the similarities and risks that are very similar between 2007 and 2027, then the country may go in a very bad way.”

The ELGIA boss cautioned the political class against the constant attacks directed to the judiciary, emphasizing that such moves may plunge the country into chaos in case the 2027 elections are disputed.

“The current orchestrated attacks on the judiciary and the Supreme Court in particular is something that has all the risks and the potential for bleeding this country into anarchy. The judiciary remains our strongest pillar in realizing electoral reforms and also in defence of the electoral democracy in this country,” he said.