Chief Justice Martha Koome and Justice Mohammed Warsame have rejected a request by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to step aside from a case challenging the taxation of judges’ car allowances.
The commission, represented by lawyer Peter Wanyama, questioned whether it would receive a fair hearing before the two judges. Wanyama cited remarks allegedly made by Chief Justice Koome describing SRC as an enemy of the Judiciary, arguing that they raised concerns about possible bias.
SRC maintained that the remarks created a perception of conflict that warranted the judges’ recusal.
Rejecting the application, Koome said neither she nor Justice Warsame had a conflict of interest or was biased in the matter. She also accused the commission of raising the application to prevent the case from proceeding, stressing that the court’s task was to hear the dispute and interpret the Constitution.
“We will not be looking at the parties. We just want to hear and interpret the Constitution,” Koome said. The ruling allows the two judges to continue hearing the dispute over the taxation of judges’ car allowances.
