President
Uhuru Kenyatta has suspended Justice Joseph Mutava over allegations
of misconduct after forming a tribunal to probe him.
This follows a recommendation by the Judicial Service Commission made on May 17.
The JSC sub-committee investigating Justice Mutava
asked the President to appoint a tribunal to investigate the conduct
of the judge on the basis of three out of the nine complaints that the
Law Society of Kenya (LSK) had filed against him.
A statement signed by JSC deputy chairperson Prof
Christine Mango said the commission was
satisfied that the complaints
disclosed sufficient grounds to petition the President to appoint a
tribunal to investigate the conduct of Justice Mutava.
The LSK filed the complaint against Justice Mutava
following a ruling by the Judge terminating the Sh5.8 billion
Goldenberg scandal case against businessman Kamlesh Pattni. The ruling
caused a public uproar with civil society and legal rights activists
including the International Center for Policy and Conflict (ICPC) and
LSK questioning the judge’s credibility and describing his decision
to acquit Patni as being a ‘miscarriage of justice.’.
