Turkey- Kenyan Supreme Court judge suspended over graft claims
Date
2/23/2016 6:48:27 PM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) >For the first time in Kenyan history a Supreme Court judge was suspended over bribery claims on Tuesday.
President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended Justice Philip Tunoi and appointed a seven-member panel to investigate claims the judge received a 200 million Kenyan shilling ($1.97 million) payment to rule in favor of Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero in a 2014 election petition.
“After further consultation and review of the relevant provisions of the constitution and given the strict timelines for the setting up of a tribunal for the investigation of a judge I have today suspended Justice Philip K. Tunoi as a judge of the Supreme Court with immediate effect” Kenyatta said in a statement.
A day earlier Kenyatta had ruled out suspending Tunoi 71 or forming a panel of inquiry.
According to Kenya’s judicial website Tunoi is the vice president of the East African Court of Justice and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011.
He was part of the bench that dismissed a 2013 election petition against Kenyatta amid claims of voting irregularities.
Among the judges appointed to investigate Tunoi is veteran Judge Sharad Rao chairman of the Kenya Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board.
By Magdalene Mukami
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