The Public Service Commission has said that it has a jurisdiction to receive and consider the petition for the removal of the Director of Public Prosecution from the office.
In its response to the petition filed in court by the late Tob Cohen’s Sister Gabriel Hannan and Ibrahim Ndungu seeking to remove DPP office.
The commission says that the court has no jurisdiction and it is not the proper forum to handle petitions for removal of a DPP or to consider the DPP’s responses to petitions for his removal.
“The DPP ought to have presented to the PSC the matters he has presented to the court to enable it consider the merits or otherwise of the petitions filed for his removal as the DPP,”reads the documents.
According to the commission the petitions seeking for his removal from the office of the DPP are not the first petitions filed adding that during the former DPP’s tenure PSC received a number of petitions.
Allegations by Haji that he won’t get a fair hearing, the commission says that the said allegations are pre-emptive and intent on delaying the consideration and determination of the petitions for his removal pending before it.
In an affidavit by commission CEO Simon Rotich, PSC says it considered the petitions at a meeting on October 19 and found that in light of the allegations made by Gabriel Van Straten and Ibrahim Ndirangu, it was necessary for Haji to respond to the petitions so as to enable the commission have the full facts from both parties in order to make an informed decision.
In October 29, Noordin Haji moved to the high court to challenge the petitions filed against him saying that the commission has no juridction to hear them. Accordingly the high court granted orders suspending PSC from considering the two petitions pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
The court also issued conservatory orders stopping the DPP’s office and Haji from commenting or discussing the matter before the PSC and the High Court in regards to Justice Sankale Ole Kantai.
So far there are three petitions that have been filed before the PSC seeking Haju’s removal from office.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, Shadrack Wamboi and Cliff Ombeta the three petitioners argue that the DPP is incompetence and has abused his office and therefore should be removed from office.
