Chief Justice (CJ) Martha Koome has explained how the Supreme Court arrives at unanimous decisions in their rulings after the ruling on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) case.
Speaking on Thursday, November 7, Koome said the decision is made in an orderly and systematic manner.
She explains that each judge gives their reasoning and decision on the said matter until it gets to herself.
“Judge A gives their view, then you go to judge B, until now the CJ. I am always the last to speak,” she said.
“From the conversation, you know whether the appeal is going to be allowed or dismissed. I also have my view, and I say it.”
At times, the CJ said, judges are forced to try and convince their colleagues to change their stand based on reasoning.
“Out of those issues, some will say the appeal is for dismissal whereas the four or five are thinking it is for allowing. That is the point for very serious debate,’ she said.
Koome said the judges are even forced to adjourn to give room for further research and reasoning on certain issues.
She highlighted the BBI case stating that the bench debated for two weeks before delivering the ruling.
“We may not even end up there, we may adjourn to go and do further research on certain areas so that we lead another focus on the area of discussion. Like for BBI, we conferenced for two weeks,” she said.
Also Read: CJ Koome Announces Vacancies in her Office; How to Apply
Koome Dismisses Influence Claims
Further, Koome stated that she has never been influenced during her tenure as a trial judge, a judge of the court, a Supreme Court judge and as the President of the Judiciary.
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Koome reiterated that the Constitution does not allow judges to be influenced by anybody of authority.
“Whoever would be attempting to influence me, I would quickly refer them to the Constitution because it is written there in black and white,” she said.
Also Read: List of Senior Counsels in Kenya, Qualifications & Privileges They Enjoy
Other Supreme Court Judges Being Influenced
The CJ, however, said she might not be aware if other judges of the Supreme Court have been compromised.
“You can only ask me whether there has been external influence over me, what happens to other people you may not know,” she said.
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