Justice Gitari refuses to recuse herself from Karua petition
Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua addresses Kerugoya High Court on March 16, 2018. She asked Justice Lucy Gitari to recuse herself from hearing her petition challenging the election of Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, citing bias. PHOTO | GEORGE MUNENE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Judge Gitari rejected claims of bias and maintained she had no interest in the case.
- Judge Gitari said it was not unusual for parties to accuse judicial officers of prejudice.
Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua suffered a setback Friday when a High Court judge refused to disqualify herself from hearing the Kirinyaga governor's election petition.
Justice Lucy Gitari said Ms Karua’s application was a waste of time.
The judge rejected claims of bias and maintained she had no interest in the case.
“Ms Karua raised the issue of bias at the Court of Appeal and failed to convince the judges. She was thus referred back to this court. I was put in the dock at the Court of Appeal, tried and tested and given a clean bill of health by the three judges,” Justice Gitari said.
She added that Ms Karua was “in a spirited effort to shop for a judge who will rule in her favour.”
IMPARTIALITY
The judge said it was not unusual for parties to accuse judicial officers of prejudice and cited numerous cases.
Justice Gitari said when she dismissed Ms Karua’s petition on grounds of procedural technicalities, she made the decision honestly.
“The petitioner did not provide evidence that I have interest in the matter. What she did in the application was to expound what was stated in the ruling. Similar allegations have been raised against judges in the past,” she said.
“Test of bias is not perception or persuasion. The principle of impartiality is applied throughout the case. We must be fair-minded.”
