Justice Chitembwe given 14 days to respond to JSC petitions » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 22- High Court Judge Justice Said Juma Chitembwe now has two weeks to respond to petitions filed against him at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Chief Martha Koome who chairs the commission wrote to the judge on Monday, asking to file his responses within 14 days.

“Upon deliberations, the JSC has resolved that the petitions be served upon the honourable judge for his response within 14 days of service,” CJ Koome said in the letter to Justice Chitembwe.

Thereafter, she said, the petition and the judges’ response will be considered by a panel that has been set up by the commission.

Chitembwe has been at the centre of a storm in the Judiciary, after petitions were filed questioning his integrity after viral videos on social media.

The video leaks, including some posted by former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko have raised serious integrity questions on Justice Chitembwe who has since downplayed them insisting that they have been edited and manipulated to malign his name.

“I am just an individual and I was not born in the Judiciary. I am Muslim and if your risk is finished you will go. I believe in God, I am not insisting that I have to remain in the Judiciary but I will not be pushed to step aside because of false allegations,” he said during an interview on KTN News on Wednesday.

Justice Chitembwe who was vetted for the position of Chief Justice in April 2021 has accused Sonko of pursuing a personal vendetta against him. The recent videos were posted by Sonko.