Tribunal to probe judge who terminated Goldenberg scandal

Joseph Mutava, the judge who acquitted Goldenberg scandal chief architect Kamlesh Pattni, will now face a tribunal that will investigate his alleged misconduct in the case.

This is after the tribunal’s chairman Justice David Maraga gazetted the rules and procedures to be used to determine whether or not Justice Mutava in any way violated the process.

According to the guidelines, the five-member tribunal will require at least three members to conduct the hearing that will be done in private, unless Justice Mutava requests that it be done in public.

“The counsel assisting the tribunal shall draw up a list of allegations against the judge, together with a summary of evidence and serve on the judge at least 14 days before the hearing. The judge shall have a right to be present during all proceedings and to legal representation,” said Justice Maraga.

He said the tribunal on its own motion or upon a request by Justice Mutava may summon any witness to testify or produce any documents they may require.

To protect witnesses, he said they may order the names, address or photographs of the witnesses to be withheld.

This comes after Justice Mutava was suspended in May 2015 on the recommendations of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which found him guilty of misconduct while handling three cases.

President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended him following the JSC’s recommendations made on May 17^th.

The JSC sub-committee investigating Justice Mutava further 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 that the commission was satisfied that the complaints disclosed sufficient grounds to petition the President to appoint a tribunal to investigate the conduct of the judge.

LSK filed the complaint against the judge following a ruling he made terminating the Ksh 5.8 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 Pattni as being ‘miscarriage of justice.’