The Senior Counsel Bar declined to participate in an anti-corruption consultative meeting chaired by Chief Justice Martha Koome, after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) failed to attend the session.
Led by Senior Counsel Philip Murgor, the group of senior lawyers walked out of the engagement, arguing that discussions on corruption within the Judiciary could not be meaningful without the presence of the JSC, which is constitutionally mandated to discipline judges and judicial officers.
The lawyers described the meeting as ineffective, insisting that excluding the commission undermined the credibility of efforts to address alleged judicial corruption. They further demanded clarity on how complaints against judicial officers are handled, citing concerns raised in a recent Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) report that pointed to corruption challenges within the magistracy.
According to the Senior Counsel Bar, any consultation on judicial integrity that excludes key accountability institutions amounts to what they termed a “smoke and mirrors exercise.”
Despite the boycott, Chief Justice Koome proceeded with the meeting alongside other stakeholders present, as discussions on judicial reforms and accountability continued without the Senior Counsel Bar