NAIROBI, Kenya — Former Judicial Service Commission (JSC) commissioner Macharia Njeru has accused the Executive of effectively taking control of the country’s judicial oversight body, raising fresh concerns over the independence of the Judiciary.
In a strongly worded statement, Njeru said the JSC had lost credibility and failed in its mandate of transparency and accountability, despite demanding the same standards from judges and judicial officers.
“JSC is one of the most useless institutions of our country today,” Njeru said, accusing the commission of resisting openness while presiding over opaque recruitment and disciplinary processes.
Njeru recalled internal resistance during his tenure when he pushed for the publication of interview score sheets for judicial appointments to enhance public confidence.
“I insisted that score sheets during recruitment be made public to engender confidence, but it was viciously fought. I was left with having my lone voice recorded in the minutes,” he said.
According to Njeru, while public interviews are still conducted, they now amount to little more than a formality, with substantive control having shifted to the Executive.
“Even as a semblance of public interviews is made, today JSC is fully controlled by the Executive,” he said.
He contrasted the current situation with previous administrations, crediting former President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua for keeping their distance from the commission.
“Credit to former President Uhuru and Joseph Kinyua. They were never interested in making calls to this institution or calling commissioners to the State House or Harambee House,” Njeru said.
He noted that his only disagreement with the Uhuru administration arose during his time at the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), where he said the presidency had been misled by police leadership, but maintained that the Judiciary was left alone.
Njeru accused the current administration of pursuing what he described as a “hostile takeover” of the JSC.
“Not with the current regime. They are intent on a hostile takeover and they have succeeded with JSC,” he said.
His remarks come amid controversy surrounding the JSC’s decision to decline to hear a petition against former Bomet governor Isaac Ruto over his attendance at a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party event.
Critics argue that the decision has reinforced perceptions of selective accountability and political interference within the commission, particularly at a time of heightened public scrutiny over judicial independence.
The JSC has not publicly responded to Njeru’s accusations or to the concerns raised over the dismissed petition, even as debate grows over the state of judicial governance and separation of powers in Kenya.
