High Court judge Msagha Mbogholi was the second candidate for the post of Chief Justice to face the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) panel when he appeared for evaluation at the Supreme Court building, yesterday.
He said judges who were unfairly hounded out of office or forced to retire prematurely may be vindicated and compensated by the newly-constituted Supreme Court once he takes over as Kenya’s 15th Chief Justice.
The long-serving judge acknowledged that most disgraced High Court and Court of Appeal judges were victims of the infamous “2002 radical surgery of the Judiciary” spearheaded by anti-graft boss Aaron Ringera and the recent probe by the defunct Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board (JMVB) chaired by veteran lawyer Sharad Rao.
He assured the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that he would consult with the rebranded Supreme Court judges to explore the possibility of entertaining any petition by the aggrieved former top judicial officers to address the violation of their constitutional rights through the contentious disciplinary processes.
“I can say there is light at the end of the tunnel for judges who were illegally removed from office,” Justice Mbogholi said while confirming he survived elimination from the bench upon challenging a malicious complaint.
He was answering a question by Appellate judge Mohamed Warsame regarding what he could do to salvage the tattered reputations of the former judges who suffered on flimsy grounds.
Justice Mbogholi assured the JSC that he believed in the independence of the Judiciary and promised to protect individual judges from intimidation by external forces.
He recalled having made two unpopular decisions, one in 1993 when he granted bail to a suspect who had claimed retired President Moi had stashed a fortune abroad and another in 1997 when he and Justices Emmanuel O’Kubasu and the late Moijo ole Keuiwua dismissed retired President Mwai Kibaki’s election petition against President Moi.
The 64-year-old judge who is the longest serving since 1987, described himself as humble but firm with adequate leadership experience having been the previous Principal Judge of the High Court.
Asked about his vision and mission, Justice Mbogholi said he was prepared to spearhead the radical restructuring of the Judiciary by amalgamation of directorates that appeared to overlap one another’s roles.
The judge caused laughter when he denied he was “a project” of an alleged cartel that has been influencing top Judiciary appointments and affirmed he was ready to retire at 70 years. He promised to protect devolution, though he could not specifically name Governors of three Counties. Appellate judge David Maraga will be interviewed this morning.
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