By ISAIAH LUCHELI

NAIROBI, KENYA: The turf war between Parliament and the Judiciary over a contentious report touching on the conduct of Judicial Service Commission (JSC) escalated after the High Court reprimanded the House for disregarding last week’s order.

On Wednesday, the court issued fresh orders blocking debate on the report seeking to remove six members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on allegations of impropriety.

High Court judge George Odunga took issue with the National Assembly for defying an earlier court order which forbid tabling the report on the floor of the House and going ahead with the process of removing the commissioners.

Odunga ruled that the parliamentary Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs did not have the powers to commence proceedings for the removal of the commissioners.

The judge noted that the natural consequence of disobedience of orders was to commence contempt of court proceedings and appropriate punishment.

DISOBEY WITH IMPUNITY

“Respect of court orders,  however disagreeable one may find them, is a cardinal tenet of the rule of law and where a person feels that a particular order is irregular the option is not to disobey it with impunity but to apply to have the same set aside,” said Odunga.

The judge added that by ignoring court orders issued on October 30, the judge said Parliament would be sending wrong signals to the people from whom they derive their authority.

“When Constitutional safeguards provided under Article 47 of the Constitution are destroyed by being whittled and judicial officers are put at the sufferance of the Executive or at the whims of the Legislature, the independence of the judiciary is the first victim,” he said.

The judge ruled that the six commissioners of the JSC shall not be suspended or removed from office pending the hearing and determination of the petition.

The judge also rejected an attempt by city debt collector Bryan Yongo to be enjoined in a suit challenging an attempt by Parliament to remove six members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

In an application filed in court Yongo had protested against the orders issued by the High Court which suspended proceedings by Parliament to initiate the removal of members of the JSC.