Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Philomena Mwilu is facing a fresh push for her removal from office after a Nairobi resident filed a new petition with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), accusing her of overstepping her authority in the high-stakes impeachment case against former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
In the petition filed on Tuesday, Belinda Egesa claims that DCJ Mwilu unlawfully assumed the powers of Chief Justice Martha Koome when she appointed a three-judge bench to hear the impeachment case. The panel included Justices Eric Ogolla, Anthony Mrima, and Lady Justice Dr. Freda Mugambi.
“The Deputy Chief Justice acted in excess of her mandate under Article 165(4) by unlawfully empaneling a High Court bench on October 18, 2024,” the petition reads. “This was a direct usurpation of the Chief Justice’s constitutional role.”
Egesa further cites several grounds for Mwilu’s removal, including violation of the Constitution, gross misconduct, incompetence, and contravention of the Judicial Code of Conduct and Ethics (2020).
Lawyer Urges JSC to Recommend DCJ’s Dismissal
Egesa’s legal counsel, Suleiman Bashir, called on the JSC to take decisive action against Mwilu, arguing that her removal would help restore public confidence in the judiciary.
“JSC should recommend to the President, under Article 186, to remove her from office,” Bashir stated in the petition. “This will safeguard the credibility of the judiciary.”
This latest petition comes days after the Court of Appeal quashed Mwilu’s decision to form the three-judge bench, a ruling that ultimately paved the way for Prof. Kithure Kindiki to be sworn in as Deputy President.
The court’s decision effectively invalidated the DCJ’s move, intensifying scrutiny on her actions and triggering renewed calls for accountability at the highest levels of the judiciary.
Recent Reprieve for DCJ and Supreme Court Judges
The petition also lands weeks after DCJ Mwilu and six other Supreme Court judges secured a temporary reprieve in a separate case that sought their removal from office. In that matter, the High Court barred the JSC from initiating disciplinary proceedings against the judges, shielding them from immediate sanctions amid mounting political and legal pressure.
The ruling offered a short-term victory for the embattled judges, but the fresh petition signals ongoing turbulence in the judiciary’s upper ranks.
