After justices from the Eldoret Environment and Land Court issued out an absenteeism notice on March 14, former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi wrote a letter of concern to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The notice states that the judges would be unavailable starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 20, due to sporting events. This justification has understandably infuriated the senior counsel.
Havi described absence as egregious misconduct and misbehavior that should not be accepted in his letter to the JSC.
Additionally, he expressed concern that, in contrast to its closest station, Kericho, which has an updated Cause List, the Court’s Cause List has not been updated since December 2024.
The letter, which was addressed to Winfrida B. Mokaya, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, also included Chief Justice Martha Koome, pleading with them to prevent such impunity from continuing.
This comes after months of city lawyers challenging the legal system, particularly on the judges’ frequent and frequently unannounced absences from courts across the country.
In addition to the absences, Havi has been calling for the dismissal of CJ Koome and the other six justices of the Supreme Court due to pervasive corruption in the highest court.
His attempts to remove the judges have not yet succeeded because multiple court rulings have prevented the JSC from taking any action on any petition to remove the seven.
The High Court prolonged conservatory orders through March 28 on March 5. The decision followed conservatory orders from two courts that gave the troubled Chief Justice a reprieve.
Havi hasn’t been fighting alone, though, as other attorneys have shared his complaints and even filed identical petitions, including fellow senior counsel Abdullahi Ahmednassir.
