Businessman seeks removal of three Court of Appeal judges over conduct in Safaricom shares sale case

Samuel Kahara Macharia accuses the three judges of gross misconduct, incompetence and violating his constitutional rights during proceedings arising from a dispute over the proposed sale of the government's 15 percent stake in Safaricom PLC.

In the petition, Macharia alleges that the judges unfairly proceeded with the hearing of an application filed by the National Treasury seeking to suspend conservatory orders that had stopped the sale of the shares. He claims he was neither served with the application nor notified of the hearing despite being a party to the case.

According to Macharia, the judges were informed on June 18, 2026 that he had not received the hearing notice or the application but nonetheless directed that the matter proceed. He contends that he was given only two hours to obtain the pleadings, prepare a response and appear for the hearing, which he says violated his constitutional rights to access justice and a fair hearing.

The petitioner further claims the judges acted with unusual haste by moving the hearing date from June 29 to June 18 and scheduling their ruling for June 26, actions he alleges were intended to facilitate the government's planned sale of Safaricom shares.

Macharia argues that the conduct of the three judges amounted to discrimination against him as a self-represented litigant and breached the Judicial Service Code of Conduct and Ethics.

The petition is anchored on Article 168 of the Constitution, which provides for the removal of judges on grounds including incompetence, gross misconduct and breach of the judicial code of conduct.

Macharia is among petitioners challenging the proposed sale of the Government's 15 percent shareholding in Safaricom, a transaction valued at more than Ksh.200 billion. The High Court had issued conservatory orders in May halting the sale pending determination of the case. The National Treasury subsequently moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to suspend those orders.

He now wants the JSC to investigate the conduct of the three appellate judges and commence the process for their removal from office.