A High Court judge has become the centre of a storm, with her recent ruling on a multibillion-shilling corporate transaction drawing sharp criticism from a prominent lawyer and raising questions about judicial conduct.
Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi launched a blistering attack on Justice Josephine Mong’are on X, accusing her of dishonesty and distortion of facts and law for the benefit of a litigant.
His harsh rhetoric, describing her as a “JuriPESA judge,” has brought the issue of judicial integrity to the forefront of public discourse. He further alleged that “wrecked judges will destroy Kenya”.
The critique comes as Justice Mong’are presides over a case with significant economic implications: the proposed Kshs 340 billion ($2.3 billion) acquisition of Diageo’s 65% stake in East African Breweries Limited (EABL) by Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings.
On June 18, 2026, Justice Mong’are issued conservatory orders halting the transaction following a petition filed in Machakos by Christine Irungu, who claimed the deal was against the public interest and prejudiced minority shareholders.
Her order restrains the parties from completing the sale and preserves the current shareholding structure pending further court directions.
This ruling has already had immediate repercussions. EABL has petitioned Chief Justice Martha Koome, expressing alarm over a “proliferation of parallel proceedings” and what it terms “forum shopping” by litigants who have repeatedly failed to secure similar orders in Nairobi.
The company warned that this creates a risk of conflicting court orders and undermines investor confidence and the predictability of Kenya’s legal framework.
The transaction has been billed as a major foreign direct investment that would generate an estimated Sh42 billion in capital gains tax for the government.
The controversy involving Justice Mong’are is not isolated to the EABL case. Senior lawyer Nelson Havi has lodged a formal complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), accusing her of gross misconduct and incompetence in handling other matters.
Furthermore, Justice Mong’are herself sought court orders to stop the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) from investigating her over a Kshs 1.9 billion loan dispute involving former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju.
Her judicial record in other cases also offers a mixed picture. In a separate ruling involving Tuju and the East African Development Bank (EADB), she dismissed his application to review a foreign judgment, calling it “lacking in merit”.
However, in another case related to the same parties, she slashed the bank’s legal fee claim from Sh50.4 million to Sh750,000, arguing the initial figure was based on a misdirection.
The Judiciary has taken a firm stance against the personal attacks from prominent advocates.
In an unprecedented move, it requested the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi, stating that his relentless but baseless claims of corruption serve to erode public confidence in the judicial system.
The institution insists it is open to scrutiny but urges those with credible complaints to present them through formal channels like the JSC rather than through social media campaigns.
