Law Society of Kenya is opposed to clearance of Prof Tom Ojienda bid for Judicial Service Commission member without clearance from Kenya Revenue Authority.
LSK in their response opposed strongly application filed by lawyer Tom Ojienda seeking to be allowed to vie for a member of Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for the second term without the tax compliance certificate.
The legal profession body through Senior Counsel Paul Muite urged the court not to issue a mandatory order sought by Ojienda adding that the certificate is a requirement for those seeking to represent the LSK in the Judicial Service Commission.
“We urge you to reject the application to issue a mandatory order that LSK must allowing the petitioner to vie for the JSC position without a tax compliance certificate, ” said Muite.
He said that according to LSK code of conduct the petitioner has to comply with all requirements set out for any candidate vying the position.
The court heard that deadline for potential candidates to submit their nomination is on the 10 of December this year.
Muite further informed the court that according to requirements listed by the lawyers body a candidate must be cleared by KRA and produce a Tax Clearance Certificate to that effect to prove that they have been paying their taxes and that there’s no pending tax liabilities due to the candidate.
Muite also informed the court that Ojienda is yet to tender his documents.
The lawyers’ body says that it has received numerous nomination forms from different candidates for consideration, however Ojienda is yet to tender his nomination papers for considerations.
“LSK is a neutral body in this dispute. There is no evidence that has been table court to show that LSK has tried to or intended in any way to lock out Ojienda from vying for the position position of JSC,” said Muite.
