End of the road the for Rawal, Tunoi as jobs are advertised

The fate of Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal and Supreme Court Judge Philip Tunoi appear to have been sealed after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) yesterday prepared their retirement letters and started the process of filling their positions.

The Judiciary’s director of communications Naim Bilal on Wednesday said it had prepared normal retirement letters for the two, which require them to clear with the institution and also advise on the procedures for payment of terminal benefits.

“These letters have been issued by the JSC through its secretary Anne Amadi, who is also the chief registrar of the judiciary,” said Mr Bilal.

The JSC has also advertised the two positions and has asked interested applicants to submit their documents no later than July 6.

The commission is emphatic in the notice of vacancy that the tenure of office will be as provided in Article 167 of the Constitution, which states that judges will retire at the age of 70.

“The JSC is an equal opportunity employer and selects candidates on merit through fair and open competition from the widest range of eligible candidates,” read the notice signed by Ms Amadi.

Justice Rawal’s official retirement date ought to have been January 16 this year while that for Justice Tunoi’s was June 3, 2014.

However, a vicious court battle, which started in the High Court through to the Supreme Court, enabled them to remain in office awaiting the final verdict.

They had moved to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the appellate court’s verdict that they should have retired at 70 and not 74, but a majority verdict of three Supreme Court judges out of five on Tuesday declined to hear their appeals, saying they may be perceived to be biased having made public their positions regarding the retirement age.

Chief Justice (CJ) Willy Mutunga and judges Mohamed Ibrahim and Smokin Wanjala also allowed the Appeal Court’s verdict to remain in force until another bench would be constituted to hear the appeals.

But their colleagues judges Njoki Ndung’u and Jackton Ojwang’ said they were ready to hear the appeals.

Meanwhile, the tribunal investigating Justice Tunoi was forced to adjourn yesterday following the Supreme Court decision on the retirement age dispute.

Tribunal chairman Sharad Rao said following the Supreme Court’s decision and the fact that the CJ would make another ruling on the same matter today, the activities of the tribunal would resume on Tuesday.

Judges Rawal and Tunoi on Tuesday applied to suspend the Supreme Court’s judgment but the CJ directed them to appear in court today for directions.

This left the tribunal investigating the conduct of Justice Tunoi over allegations that he received a Sh200 million bribe from Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero hanging in the balance since it can only investigate a sitting judge.