Magistrate, judge fight in court over association's presidency

[iStockphoto]

A magistrate has moved to court seeking to stop elections of the Kenya Magistrate and Judges Association (KMJA).

The elections are slated for December 16, but Mavoko Senior Principal Magistrate Derrick Khaemba Kuto has filed the case at the High Court through lawyer Shadarack Wambui.

At the centre of the case is a battle between Kuto and Kisumu Labour and Relations Court Judge Stephen Okiyo Radido. Kuto argues that the decision to consider Radido's nomination was unlawful and unconstitutional.

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been listed as an interested party in the case. Kuto was elected KMJA president on December 11, 2021, for a two-year term having served as secretary general.

His term was to expire in December, but he was eligible for re-election. He says KMJA council called for applications from anyone interested in running for different positions.

Kuto applied to run for KMJA president and when the list of nine candidates came out, he was the only presidential candidate.

"Pursuant to Rule 6.7 of the Association's Elections Rules, the Respondent's Executive Director (KMJA) further deemed the applicant to have been re-elected to the position of President for a further two years as he was the only validly nominated candidate," says his lawyer Wambui.

Justice Radido lodged a complaint on September 26 with the Executive Council about his missing nomination forms.