New Twist As Five Supreme Court Judges Recuse Themselves From Case Involving Former CS
New Twist As five Supreme Court judges—Philomena Mwilu, Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndungu, and William Ouko— recuse themselves from hearing a high-profile appeal involving former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju.
Tuju’s case involves a dispute over a Ksh1.5 billion loan from a regional lender, which he claims was never fully disbursed.
He petitioned the court to halt the case proceedings, citing misconduct and bias among the Supreme Court judges. According to Tuju, the judges have ignored critical legal procedures and are working toward a “predetermined outcome.”
His statement read, “The Judges’ actions are not only unfair to the appellants/applicants, they are also indicative of the fact that the Court is working towards a predetermined outcome. The deponent goes on to aver that the Court has actively and continually worked to defeat the appellants/applicants’ rights to fair hearing and access to justice.”
Supreme Court judges, in their collective response, expressed deep concern over the accusations, stating that allegations of impropriety and bias against them undermined their ability to provide a fair hearing.
They stated,”When a party accuses the Bench of lack of impartiality and integrity, we are left with no choice but to step down to preserve the integrity of this institution,”
“Having arrived at the inescapable conclusion that we are being accused of bias and working towards an undisclosed predetermined outcome, we are strongly persuaded that our further participation in these proceedings would not serve the ends of justice, at least in the eyes and perception of the appellants/applicants.”
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