Kenya Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board started its work on February 23, 2011 and by mid-July it had vetted more than 200 judicial officers.
In the latest vetting, 38 magistrates were found suitable while three others, Sogomo Gathogo, Maisuba Innocent Toyo and Orenge Isaac Karasiwere were found unfit to serve in public offices.
For Gathogo, the Board was alarmed by his choice of language which it termed abusive and derogative. Based in Moyale since 2009, he was found short-tempered and rude, and easily lost his objectivity in circumstances where he felt that he was being challenged.
The Board looked at complaints to the effect that Toyo happened to be drunk while conducting proceedings in court. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) had notified the board that they had received complaints about the magistrate’s undying zeal for liquor and had warned him about it.
Although the magistrate denied the allegations, the Board noted that he neither appealled the decision nor refuted the allegations. The magistrate’s court record keeping was found to be wanting, as it was incomplete and confusing. Several cash deposits in his bank account also weighed heavily on his integrity.
Orenge Isaac was questioned about the salary he continued to receive from the Lands Ministry three and a half months after he had resigned. He received a total of Sh124,352 as salary between July and October 2008, yet he ceased reporting on duty on July 14, 2008.
The Magistrate stated that he only worked at Lands Office for six months and then joined the Judiciary. His file, he says, was not transferred to Judiciary immediately as he had requested, and as a result he was not able to get a salary from the Judiciary.
In past determinations the Board has taken a negative view of judicial officers who have received double salaries and not made effort to refund the same timeously.
All judges and magistrates who were in office on August 27, 2010, when the country got a new Constitution, have to be vetted. The board is tasked with vetting judges of the Court of Appeal, High Court judges, magistrates as well as judicial officers including the registrar of the high court and the Chief Court Administrator, and its decision is final.
The vetting board has helped to instill confidence in Kenya’s courts. ^
— By Victor Adar
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