Sharad Rao was to be sworn-in as chairman, dismissing earlier reports of his replacement with Jonathan Havelock.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 2 – The tribunal appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to probe the conduct of Supreme Court judge Philip Tunoi was due to be sworn into office on Wednesday afternoon.
Solicitor General Njee Muturi told Capital FM News that Sharad Rao was to be sworn-in as chairman, dismissing earlier reports of his replacement with Jonathan Havelock.
“The gazette notice I have shows that Sharad Rao is the chairman,” Muturi said on telephone.
His position contradicts earlier reports attributed to an official of the Cabinet Office who said Havelock had replaced Rao.
READ: State House ‘flip-flopping’ as Havelock replaces Rao in Tunoi tribunal
On Wednesday, media reports also suggested that Havelock had declined to be sworn-in but sources in government said he had only indicated that he was unavailable for the ceremony on Wednesday and would be sworn in at a later date.
Others to be sworn-in to the tribunal are Justice Roselyne Korir, Judith Abrahams Guserwa, James Kaberere Gacoka, Abdirashid Abdullahi Hussein and George Munji Wakukha.
The tribunal is charged with investigating one Geoffrey Kiplagat’s charge that Tunoi accepted a Sh200 million bribe from Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero to fix the outcome of an election petition.
READ: Kidero remains Nairobi Governor – Supreme Court
The Judicial Service Commission recommended that a tribunal be formed to decide Tunoi’s future in the Judiciary after establishing that there was “inappropriate” contact between himself and Kidero’s agents when the latter’s petition was before the Supreme Court.
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