A petitioner has sought for the removal of Migori Magistrate Mathias Okuche.
The petition was filed before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) over alleged professional misconduct, bias and violation of the rule of law.
The petition filed by William Othiambo Ngita challenged magistrate’s handling of a property dispute case which was dismissed with costs under questionable circumstances.
Through his lawyer Njenga Kiarie of KAN Advocates LLP, Ngita claimed that the ruling was delivered from a date different from the one the court had set.
The eight-page handwritten ruling was delivered on November 14, 2024, instead of November 26, 2024.
The accused parties never appeared in court or presented a defense yet the judgement was ruled in their favor.
“It cannot be again said that the defendants who never participated in the trial, emerged triumphant. We are now keen on extracting a certificate of costs as awarded in the expunged judgement. This is the height of partially by Honorable Mathias Okuche” part of the petition read.
Ngita had sued Ansentus Otieno Njagwa and fifteen others for trespass and dispossession of Ngita Swaya Estate, accusing them of unlawfully collecting rent despite not being beneficiaries of the estate.
