Regional lawyers body urges JSC to ignore House team summons

A regional lawyers body has slammed a parliamentary committee saying it has no mandate to summon the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) over the Gladys Shollei saga.

The East Africa Law Society (EALS) president James Mwamu said it was unconstitutional for the National Assembly Legal Affairs committee chaired by Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga to summon a Constitutional Commission.

“The move by the Committee amounts to summoning the Chief Justice who doubles as Head of the Judiciary and President of the Supreme Court,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

However, his comments came after Ms Shollei, a member of the JSC, appeared before the same committee.

Mrs Shollei who has been sent on compulsory leave to pave way for investigations into alleged malpractice, blamed personal differences between her and three members of the JSC for her tribulations, which had led her to being placed under investigations.

She blamed city lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Justice Mohammed Warsame and Chief Magistrate Emily Ominde as the JSC members hounding her, citing an array of reasons from intimidation, demand for favours and overbearing demands that had made it difficult to perform her duties as Chief Registrar.

IGNORE SUMMONS

The EALS boss said the JSC should ignore the summons and carry on with its own investigations into the conduct of Mrs Shollei who has been suspended to pave way for investigations into alleged malpractice.

“Parliament should uphold the supreme law and understand that it has no mandate to summon an independent body like JSC,” said Mr Mwamu.

JSC, he explained, was not answerable to Parliament saying it was justified in ignoring any summons issued to it.

Mr Mwamu warned that such summons may heighten tension as Parliament had clearly overstepped its mandate adding that separation of powers should be respected.

He said that two Committees of the Judiciary mandated by the JSC to investigate the various allegations of malpractices against Ms Shollei should be left to perform their roles independently.

The two committees have been mandated by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to investigate allegations of malpractices in procurement, employment, administration, financial management and corporate governance of the Judiciary made against the Chief Registrar.

Dr Mutunga said the decision to send her on leave pending a probe that must be concluded within 15 days.

Parliament, he said, had in the past overstepped its mandate out of ignorance, which must be discouraged.