Former High Court Judge Said Juma Chitembwe has been a key figure in one of Kenya’s most talked-about legal scandals. He was removed from office after being accused of corruption, misconduct, and breaking the ethical code expected of judges.
In 2021, former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko released secretly recorded videos. These videos appeared to show Chitembwe in private conversations about court cases and land matters, which raised serious concerns about his honesty and fairness as a judge.
The Judicial Service Commission, which is responsible for keeping judges in check, quickly stepped in. Chief Justice Martha Koome asked the president at the time, Uhuru Kenyatta, to form a tribunal to look into the matter.
The tribunal, which was led by Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi, took time to investigate the claims. In the end, they found that Chitembwe had indeed broken the Constitution and did not follow the rules expected of someone in his position.
In 2023, Chitembwe tried to appeal the tribunal’s decision at the Supreme Court, hoping to clear his name and get back his position. However, the Supreme Court judges reviewed the evidence and agreed with the tribunal’s findings.
On December 28, 2023, they confirmed that his actions were serious enough to justify his removal. They said the recordings showed clear misconduct and that the decision to remove him was necessary.
Even before this case, Chitembwe had made headlines for a controversial judgment in 2016. He had reduced the sentence of a man found guilty of defilement, saying the victim had acted like an adult. This ruling received heavy criticism from the public and child protection groups, who said it was wrong and harmful to children’s rights.
Throughout the process, Chitembwe denied the accusations. He claimed that Sonko had edited the videos to make him look bad and that the whole issue was personal revenge. However, the tribunal and the courts looked at the full recordings and found them trustworthy.
They believed that Chitembwe had not acted in the best interest of the justice system.
The end of Chitembwe’s career serves as a reminder that all public officers, no matter how high their position, must act within the law. It also showed that there are systems in place to hold judges accountable and protect the image of the courts in Kenya.
