MP vows to move bill to sack Supreme Court judges

From left: Supreme Court Judges Njoki Ndungu, Jackton Ojwang, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Philip Tunoi, Mohamed Ibrahim and Smokin Wanjala during the delivery of the judgment on the presidential election results petition at the Supreme Court in Nairobi on March 30, 2013. PHOTO / SALATON NJAU 

By GODFREY OMBOGO
Posted  Tuesday, April 2  2013 at  13:02

Nyakach MP Aduma Owuor has said he will introduce a bill to send all Supreme Court Judges home immediately Parliament reconvenes.

He said the Judges failed to honour the trust that Kenyans bestowed on them in their last week's judgment on the presidential petition.

“My first bill in parliament will seek to send the judges home because they disappointed Kenyans. I know as Cord we are fewer than our opponents in the house but we will fight hard to ensure the bill goes through,” he said.

Mr Owuor argued that the discrepancies discovered in the 22 polling stations whose votes were re-tallied should have raised concern to the Judges that there could have been similar discrepancies in other stations countrywide.

“The choice of the Judges to ignore the discrepancies is suspect. What amount of irregularities should be considered enough evidence for an election to be nullified?” he posed.

He also questioned how Supreme Court Judges Jackton Ojwang, Mohammed Ibrahim and Philip Tunoi, all previously from High Court, joined their three colleagues in making a unanimous decision.

“These are competent Judges who always made independent decisions when they served at the High Court. They could not possibly agree on a unanimous decision,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by Ugenya MP David Ochieng who said that Prime Minister Raila Odinga accepted the court ruling not because it was fair but because he had promised to do so.

Mr Ochieng said that Kenyans deserve to know the truth and the calls for peace should not be used to hoodwink the public that everything is alright.

“We want peace and the truth, we don’t want forced peace yet this thing has been stolen from us. We know how to keep peace ourselves and we should therefore not be told what to do,” he said.

The leaders were speaking at a luncheon on Monday for Siaya County elected leaders organized by the Right Reverend Dr Joseph Wasonga, Bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya Maseno West Diocese in his home in Gem Constituency.

The legislators however called on the public to accept the court's decision.

“Raila had accepted the verdict so let us do the same. What we now have to protect as our only saviour in the circumstances is our county government,” said Mr Ochieng.

Other MPs who attended the luncheon include Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja) and Gideon Ochanda (Bondo) and Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga.