Judges blast security withdrawal of Mugambi

By Robert Mutasi 

The Kenya Judges Association has condemned the "sudden and unexplained" withdrawal of security detail from High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi following a recent court decision. 

He had withdrawn after one Inspector Riri attached to the Judiciary Police Unit and stationed at the Supreme Court ordered Judge Mugambi's driver and bodyguard to surrender their arms and report back to the General Service Unit headquarters.

This order was without notice, and it is said that Inspector Riri threatened that this was either it, or he would appear at the house of the judge to disarm his security team by force. 

He said his authority for the action had come from an undisclosed higher office.

Present in court, Inspector Riri told Judge Mugambi that he was acting on instructions from above and had no information on any replacements of the security detail. 

By Tuesday morning, the judge had no driver and no bodyguard.This incident attracted a sharp response from the Kenya Judges Association headed by its president Patrick Otieno who is also the President of the Judges Welfare Association. 

Otieno spoke to the press in Kisumu, terming the withdrawal of security as illegal and underlining that provision of security to judges is not a privilege, but a constitutional right. 

He said such services cannot be withdrawn at the discretion of or on the whim of the Inspector General.

"We remind Inspector Riri and those behind this unlawful action that the services of a driver and security to a judge are not privileges that can be withdrawn at will, but are guaranteed benefits under the constitution," said Otieno. 

He added that any withdrawal without proper cause may amount to an affront to the judiciary and the rule of law.

KJA went further to take issue with the statement reportedly made by Acting Inspector General Gilbert Masengeli, referring to security provided to judges as a "privilege." 

"Such a statement," said Otieno, "reveals a misunderstanding of the law, since judges have a right to security by virtue of their office.

Coming in the wake of the ruling by Judge Mugambi in Constitution Petition number 436 of 2024, the incident has cast aspersions on the independence and security of the judiciary.