EX-Uhuru CS Pens Strong-Worded Letter To Chief Justice Koome Over Supreme Court’s Conduct
Raphael Tuju has sent a third open letter to Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Tuju expressed significant worry over what he calls “outrageous rulings” by five Supreme Court judges in the continuing legal struggle between a bank and a 27-acre plot of property in Karen, Nairobi.
Tuju expresses serious concern in this letter, dated March 21, 2025, about the Supreme Court judges’ conduct in his ongoing legal dispute with the East African Development Bank (EADB).
The lawsuit has now grown into a larger dispute with the judiciary.
Tuju’s sharply worded letter draws a stark parallel between the current situation in Kenya and the infamous 1857 US Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott case, which sustained slavery and contributed to the American Civil War.
He warns that an irresponsible judiciary can have disastrous consequences for a country, particularly one as vulnerable as Kenya.
From Courtrooms to Controversies: Raphael Tuju Calls Out Supreme Court Judges in Scathing Open Letter pic.twitter.com/3b4sjw46Dc
— KenyaUnchained (@KenyaUnchained) March 22, 2025
Tuju refers to this occurrence as a “geographical phenomenon” rather than a cohesive nation-state.
Tuju claims that the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCOK) judges have been careless in their words and behavior.
This follows their handling of the 2022 presidential petition, in which he argues their use of phrases like “hot air” and “wild goose chase” inflamed an already tense political situation.
The essence of Tuju’s complaint is the conduct of the five Supreme Court judges, which worsened in October 2024.
Five justices (Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Justices Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, and William Ouko) recused themselves from hearing his appeal over a Ksh4.5 billion debt to the East African Development Bank (EADB).
This unusual step came when Tuju accused the judges of bias and lack of impartiality, leading them to determine that their ongoing involvement would be detrimental to justice.
In his letter to Koome, Tuju claims that the judges have regularly breached court processes, including denying him his constitutional right to a rebuttal and discarding his evidence on bogus grounds.
Tuju argues that the courts declared that his property may be auctioned, with the prospect of compensation if he eventually won the case—a precedent he regards as both unjust and unprecedented.
“The law cannot be the foundation of morality,” Tuju writes; “it is the other way round, your Honor. Morality is the foundation of good law.”
Tuju accuses the five Supreme Court judges of aiming to undermine the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) authority.
He believes the judges attempted to halt proceedings at the JSC, where he had filed complaints against them.
He argues that the judges have gone so far as to recuse themselves from the case, calling it an unprecedented move in Commonwealth jurisprudence.
“They needed not to recuse themselves,” Tuju told CJ Koome. “The case before them had collapsed because the affidavit before them had been recanted. Hence their ‘clever’ move to recuse themselves.”
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Tuju’s letter also raises broader worries about Kenya’s courts and the possibility of the country devolving into chaos.
He warns that Kenya is not immune to becoming a failed state, given the dire conditions in neighboring countries such as Somalia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He contends that, while the country can withstand a dysfunctional president or legislature, an irresponsible court is a far larger concern, given judges’ tenure and the limited methods for holding them accountable.
Tuju concludes by expressing his hope that Chief Justice Koome will have the fortitude to address favour.
EX-Uhuru CS Pens Strong-Worded Letter To Chief Justice Koome Over Supreme Court’s Conduct
