High Court Judge Gregory Mutai has directed that a petition by former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko seeking to nullify judgments upholding his impeachment be determined at the earliest opportunity.
Sonko is challenging the decisions that upheld his removal from office, arguing that the subsequent findings of judicial misconduct against former High Court judge Said Juma Chitembwe raise fundamental questions about the fairness and constitutional validity of the proceedings.
The former governor contends that Chitembwe’s participation in the three judge bench that dismissed his challenge to the impeachment compromised his right to a fair and impartial hearing.
In the petition, Sonko relies on the Supreme Court’s decision upholding findings against Chitembwe, arguing that the misconduct established in the disciplinary proceedings was connected to the very dispute the judge presided over.
He wants the court to declare the original High Court judgment, delivered on June 24, 2021, and subsequent appellate decisions a nullity.
Sonko is also seeking an order directing that the consolidated petitions challenging his impeachment be reheard on their merits before an expanded bench appointed by the Chief Justice.
Among the other reliefs sought are orders restraining the respondents from enforcing the impugned judgments, compelling Kenya Law Reports to remove the affected decisions from its online records, and awarding him exemplary and punitive damages for the alleged violation of his constitutional rights.
The petition raises questions about the legal effect of judicial misconduct on decisions delivered by a bench of judges and whether subsequent findings against one of the judges can justify reopening matters that have already gone through the appellate process.
The court is expected to consider the issues raised in the petition in determining whether the reliefs sought can be granted under the Constitution and applicable law.