High Court bars JSC from hearing complaints against judges
High Court bars JSC from hearing complaints against judges
High court bars JSC from hearing complaints against judges until regulations are gazetted.
The High Court has barred the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from hearing or processing any petitions or complaints against judges until it enacts and gazettes regulations governing disciplinary proceedings, in a decision with far-reaching implications for judicial accountability and independence.
In a judgment delivered on December 18, 2025, a three-judge bench comprising Justices R. Aburili, J. Chigiti (SC) and A. Muteti ruled in favour of advocate Kennedy Echesa Lubengu, who had challenged the legality of the JSC’s disciplinary processes.
Lubengu filed Petition No. E110 of 2025 against the JSC and the Attorney General, arguing that the commission has for years handled complaints against judges using undocumented and unpredictable internal procedures, contrary to Section 47 of the Judicial Service Act, which requires formal, gazetted regulations.
The petitioner represented a judge who is facing an ongoing disciplinary hearing before the JSC over alleged delay in delivering a ruling in a bail application and the purported loss of a criminal court file. The complaint was lodged by Acorn Law Advocates LLP against Lady Justice Dorah Chepkwony.
In its determination, the court first addressed whether it had jurisdiction to hear the matter and whether the petitioner had the legal standing to bring the case.
The judges held that modern constitutional interpretation allows any public-spirited citizen to approach the court to defend constitutional values, even if they are not directly affected by the impugned action.
The court rejected the JSC’s argument that the petition was premature since the commission had not concluded the complaint against the judge. It held that litigants are not required to wait for an unconstitutional administrative process to run its course before seeking judicial intervention.
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The bench further found that the High Court has supervisory jurisdiction over the JSC when it exercises administrative or quasi-judicial functions, particularly to safeguard the right to fair administrative action under Article 47 and the right to a fair hearing under Article 50 of the Constitution.
On the substantive issue, the court found that the JSC has failed to develop and operationalise regulations governing complaints against judges since the enactment of the Judicial Service Act in 2011.
While the commission acknowledged it had no formal regulations, it said draft regulations were undergoing public participation following guidance from the Supreme Court in the Gladys Shollei case.
The judges ruled that the prolonged delay in gazetting the regulations was unjustifiable and unconstitutional, noting that the absence of a clear disciplinary framework undermines fairness, transparency, predictability and accountability.
Allowing the JSC to proceed with hearings in the absence of such regulations, the court held, would amount to condoning an illegality and violate judges’ constitutional rights.
Consequently, the court prohibited the JSC from considering or hearing any pending petitions against judges until the regulations contemplated under Section 47 of the Judicial Service Act are in place.
However, it declined to interrogate the merits of the specific complaint before the JSC, holding that such jurisdiction lies exclusively with the commission once it complies with the law.
Given the public interest nature of the case, the court made no order as to costs.
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