A lobby group has written a public complaint letter to Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against Judge Judith Omange over a land row matter.
Dubbed Nairobi Social Justice, the group says judge Omange of Environment and Labor Relations Court’s conduct in ELC 312 of 2009 land grabbing case is not right.
They say they have observed anomalies in how She is conducting that case.
The group claims that Omange allowed Mr Davis Chelagoi as interested party in ElC 312 OF 2009, despite the case already being determined with a judgement in favor of Mr Ashok Shah and Hiten Kumar by judge Komingoi on July 28,2023.
Judge Komingoi had ruled against had ruled against enjoining Chelangoi as interested party due to his application being time barred and the case being filed in 2009 and he had numerous opportunities to apply for rejoinder earlier.
They say the actions of Omange raises concern of a potential miscarriage of justice.
The group adds that there are suspicion of corruption and external influences that may have influenced Omange’s decision which is against the provisions of JSC Act.
They want JSC to conduct thorough investigations into Omange’s conduct, and upon conclusion of investigation appropriate disciplinary measures should be taken and that decision reviewed.
There is a ruling on the same matter on April 11,2024 and if the judge will deliver it, it might not be fair.
Anthony Moses, group chairman says that addressing this issue is crucial to ensuring that justice is served fairly and impartially and in accordance with constitution standards and legal procedures.
Chelogoi has since pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding Ashok land valued at Sh1.3 billion.
It took a warrant of arrest to arraign Chelogoi, who has previously missed several sessions on grounds that he was hospitalized.
Chelogoi, who is charged alongside a former senior Lands officer Andrew Kirungu, denied eight counts of forgery of a title deed of a parcel of land measuring 7.39 hectares, the property of Ashok Rupshi Shah and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja.
Former administrator, through his lawyer Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda, pleaded to be freed on a reasonable bond, saying he has been sickly.
Ashok was being represented by lawyer Suleiman Bashir.
Chelogoi is accused of frustrating businessman Ashok Kumar Rupshi despite a high court judgment and several court orders that ordered the former PC to surrender the property to Ashok, who the court ruled is the genuine owner of the land.
The protracted land battle dates back to 2019 with High Court case number 312 of 2009, between Ashok Kumar Rupshi, Hitten Kumar and the late Jacob Juma.
With that hurdle out of the way, Ashok sought access to the 8-acre piece of land, but he encountered another hurdle when he was informed of another ownership dispute, that of Davis Chelogoi. And when the office of the chief land registrar summoned both parties, Chelogoi was absent.
Magistrate Dolphina Alego had issued an arrest warrant after Chelogoi failed to appear in court for plea taking where he was jointly charged alongside Assistant Deputy Director in the Lands Administration Office Andrew Aseri Kirungu, both charged with conspiracy to defraud a parcel of land valued at Ksh1.35 billion.
Kirungu was further charged with fraudulently obtaining a land registration number and abuse of office contrary to section 101 of the Penal Code.
