City Affairs

Ahmednassir Abdullahi permanently barred from appearing before Supreme Court

The Supreme Court building.

By Patel Okumu | Thursday, January 18, 2024

The Supreme Court has barred Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi and associates of his law firm from making submissions before the court.

The Supreme Court has permanently barred Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi from appearing before it following his continued attacks on judges and the judiciary.

"In view of the foregoing, this court decides that henceforth and from the date of this communication, you shall have no audience before the court, either by yourself, an employee of your law firm, or any other person holding brief for you or acting pursuant to your instructions," said Ms Letizia Wachira, the deputy registrar of the Supreme Court.

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A complete seven-judge panel of the Supreme Court declared in an official statement that it was untenable for Mr Ahmednasir to pursue justice within the same institution and before the very judges whose reputation and integrity he consistently undermines.

"Much as this decision is bound to affect those who may have instructed you to represent them before the Court, it is untenable that you would seek justice in the very institution and before the very judges whose reputation and integrity you never tire of assaulting," the Supreme Court judges said.

The court accused the lawyer of conducting a broadcast, print, and social media campaign, accusing it and its judges of corruption, incompetence, and outright bribery.

"This you have done with reckless abandon, paying scant regard to the reputations of those who tirelessly serve on the court in accordance with their oath of office," the court said.

The lawyer, a former commissioner of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), has been notably outspoken in condemning judges for alleged corruption without specifying any names.

The court, having previously warned the lawyer to exercise caution and refrain from imposing sanctions, was compelled to make a stern decision. Despite the earlier caution, the lawyer remained undeterred, leading the court to invoke its ruling in the case of Republic v. Ahmad Abdolfadhi Mohammed and Anor, SC Petition No. 39 of 2018—a case in which the lawyer, Ahmednasir, had criticized the court's verdict.

"You were cautioned that such conduct would, in the future, not go unpunished. The caution, as recorded in the ruling above, appears not to have had any sobering effect upon you." Said the court

The court pointed out that regardless of his sustained and unsubstantiated attacks against the court and its judges, the lawyer still sees no contradiction in filing cases before it.

It claimed that the lawyer's call for justice was not what motivated his insensitivity and abusive arrogance.

"Attached to this communication is a compilation of some of the statements that you have personally been generating against the Court, its leadership, and membership over the years," the court said.

It explained that the compilation serves as a reference point for anyone seeking to validate or challenge the gravity of the court's action.

Responding to the news of his ban, the Senior Counsel termed the ban against him and his law firm as “a badge of honour.”

In a post on X, the lawyer continued to blast the Supreme Court as being “corrupt,” an allegation that largely contributed to his ban.

“Isn't it a badge of honour for the most corrupt court in Kenya to refuse me and my law firm an audience?” he wrote.