Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju, along with his three children and associated companies, have opposed an application by Supreme Court Justice Isaac Lenaola seeking the empanelment of a bench by Chief Justice Martha Koome to hear a petition challenging the removal of Supreme Court judges.

Through their lawyers Gregory Ndege, Duncan Okatch, and Paul Nyamodi, Tuju and his associates argued before Justice Lawrence Mugambi that allowing Justice Lenaola’s application would compromise their right to fair administrative action.

“The Chief Justice’s role under Article 165(4) is an administrative function. Given her involvement as a petitioner in this case, empaneling a bench would present a conflict of interest and violate Article 47 of the Constitution, as well as the Fair Administrative Action Act,” their legal team contended.

Ndege, representing SAM Limited, Alma, Mano, and YMA Tuju, further submitted that if the Chief Justice were to constitute the bench, a clear distinction must be made between an office and its office bearer.

“This petition concerns the tenure of an office holder. It is crucial to differentiate between the office itself and the individual holding it. In this case, the petitioner may not be in an ideal position to empanel a bench,” he argued.

The petition in question was filed by Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Martha Koome, Justice Isaac Lenaola, Justice Smokin Wanjala, Justice William Ouko, and Justice Njoki Ndungu, seeking to bar the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from proceeding with cases that could lead to their removal from office.

Represented by lawyer George Oraro, the judges contended that the petition raised critical legal issues and that an expanded bench would facilitate a faster resolution. They also maintained that empaneling a bench is an administrative duty. If concerns about the Chief Justice’s involvement were valid, then any judge selected by the JSC could similarly be perceived as compromised, despite the principle of judicial independence.

Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi strongly opposed the application, warning that granting it would create a legal crisis.

“The judges have failed to demonstrate any threats to their rights,” he argued, urging the court to dismiss the application. He further cautioned that referring the matter to the Chief Justice could lead to a biased selection of judges.

Justice William Ouko, represented by lawyer Ochieng Oduol, emphasized that the case raised significant constitutional questions. He noted that once a case is deemed constitutional in nature, it must be heard by an uneven number of judges, as stipulated under Article 165(4) of the Constitution.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi is set to deliver his ruling on April 25, 2025, regarding whether the Supreme Court judges’ petition should be referred to the Chief Justice for the empanelment of a bench.

A city lawyer and two young activists have filed a petition in the High Court seeking to suspend the ongoing recruitment process for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The petitioners claim that the current recruitment exercise, aimed at filling vacancies for the Chairperson and Members of the IEBC, is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Advocate Dickson Morara Omoke, along with Moses Kidi Odasia Mwaga and Angela Mbuthia, are challenging the process, citing violations of fundamental rights and the exclusion of qualified young applicants from the shortlist.

According to court documents, Section 6(2)(c) of the IEBC Act mandates that candidates for membership must possess at least 10 years of experience in specific fields. The petitioners argue that this requirement unfairly disadvantages young people by setting excessively high experience thresholds.

They further contend that the recruitment procedures are inherently flawed and discriminatory, particularly against the youth and marginalized groups.

Additionally, the petitioners assert that the selection panel’s shortlisting process infringes on constitutional rights enshrined in Articles 27, 35, and 47 of the Kenyan Constitution, which guarantee non-discrimination, access to information, and a fair and transparent process.

Moses Kidi Odasia Mwaga, the convener of the Inter Partes Youth Forum and a lead petitioner, voiced his concerns over the exclusion of young people from the IEBC recruitment process.

“We are advocating for the inclusion of youth in key national leadership roles,” he stated. “The current recruitment process is not only discriminatory but also sidelines competent young individuals who could make valuable contributions to our electoral system.”

The dispute centers on the recruitment process initiated by the Selection Panel for IEBC positions through a gazette notice on March 1, 2023. The notice invited applications for the roles of Chairperson and six Commission Members.

Despite receiving numerous applications, the petitioners argue that the process has been plagued by a lack of transparency, the exclusion of qualified young applicants, and the participation of state officers who should have been disqualified due to their government positions.

Angela Mbuthia, Chairperson of the Jubilee Youth League and one of the petitioners, highlighted the lack of youth representation among the shortlisted candidates for the IEBC positions.

A Nairobi Court has released a Canadian Citizen charged fraudulently obtaining 357,300 US dollars from an American using fake investment scheme on Ksh 5M cash bail.

The suspect Phillip William Knight was arraigned at Milimani Law Courts where the prosecution alleged that on diverse dates between September and October 2024, with intend to defraud, he obtained the said money from Casey Drew Cain by falsely pretending that he would invest the money for profit in World Food Programme and Sunshine Minerals Limited.

He was also charged with forging a letter from United Nations World Food Programme and using the said letter to defraud Cain USD 357,300.

Further, the prosecution alleged that the suspect on September 30, 2024, defrauded Cain USD 163,000 by forging a World Food Programme Invoice purporting it to be genuine document from the United Nations.

Knight was apprehended on March 22, 2025, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport following a stop order issued by the Kenyan government.

His arrest followed a complaint by Casey Drew Cain, who accused Knight of luring him into fraudulent investment deals.

The matter will be mentioned on April 17,2025.

Milimani magistrate court, on Friday, March 28, 2025, released Maria Wangari Kamunge, popularly known on TikTok as Rish Kamunge on a Ksh5M personal bond pending investigations of her alleged fraud case.

In delivering the ruling, Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina said that the grounds the Investigative Officer (IO) Joseph Karanja stated in the miscellaneous application to detain her for seven days were not strong enough to hold Kamunge for seven days.

“I have not seen the existence of any compelling reasons warranting the detention of the respondent for seven days, the application is not merited and is hereby declined,” Chief Magistrate Onyina ruled.

Kamunge is accused of obtaining money under false pretences, contrary to Section 313 of the Penal Code, Chapter 63 Laws of Kenya, by promising some Kenyans overseas jobs.

According to a supporting affidavit in a miscellaneous application by the investigative officer (IO) Joseph Karanja, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) sought to detain Kamunge for seven days to enable completion of investigations.

Karanja stated that one Judith Bosibori, among other complainants, lodged complaints against Kamunge at the Nairobi Central DCI offices, citing having been defrauded by the TikToker.

The complaint stated that between January 1, 2025, and March 20, 2025, Judith Bosibori and others approached Kamunge, who runs an agency under the name Trustpin Verified Agent Limited, which had promised to help her travel abroad for work.

It is also said that they were each required to pay between Ksh200, 000 and Ksh300, 000 for the processing money, which was paid through Mpesa number 0759669552.

The complainant said that after they made the payments, Kamunge failed to honour her promises, and she went missing without a trace.

Kamunge, while in one of her offices in Nairobi, was traced and arrested by the members of the public on March 26, 2025, and taken to the Central Police Station.

Karanja stated that after word spread around about Kamunge’s arrest, many complainants came out at the DCI offices and recorded statements of her defrauding them.

The state prosecutor had earlier on told the court that releasing Kamunge would put her life in danger.