Kenya's president forms team to probe Supreme Court judge

February 23, 2016 2:12 PM

"I have today suspended Justice Philip K. Tunoi, as a judge of the Supreme Court, with immediate effect, and appointed a Tribunal to investigate his conduct," Kenyatta said in a statement.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta arrives for the 26th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, January 31, 2016. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta named a seven-person tribunal on Tuesday to investigate the conduct of a supreme court judge accused of corruption.

A private citizen who says he brokered a bribe of $2 million has accused Justice Philip Tunoi of accepting the money to swing the court in favour of a litigant in a petition arising out of a result in the 2013 general election. Tunoi denies the charges.

The case is seen as a credibility test for the judiciary, which was reconstituted in line with the 2010 constitution to rid it of the graft and incompetence that had undermined its effectiveness for decades.

Formation of the tribunal follows the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission(JSC), which hires judges.

The JSC said this month it had found evidence that Tunoi engaged in inappropriate communication with agents of a litigant in the election petition case that was settled by the supreme court in 2014.

Kenyatta was declared the winner of the 2013 presidential vote after opposition candidate Raila Odinga challenged the result in the supreme court.

The 2013 election also covered votes for parliament and local governments and the litigation is unrelated to the presidential contest.