Senator Ojienda demands answers on Judiciary crisis and data breach

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

Senator (Prof.) Tom Ojienda (Kisumu) has raised concerns over tensions between the Judiciary and legal professionals, calling on the Senate Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to investigate the root causes of the friction. He has urged the committee to examine whether the conflict stems from judicial overreach, lawyer misconduct, inefficiencies or failures in regulatory oversight.

The senator is also seeking a report on past judicial removals, questioning whether due process under Article 168 of the Constitution was followed. He wants clarity on the timeframe for handling complaints against judges, whether the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has the necessary resources to resolve cases efficiently and what reforms are planned to address existing gaps.

Sen. Ojienda further demands an assessment of the Senate committee’s role in enhancing judicial transparency, efficiency and accountability.

Separately, he has sought a statement from the Senate Committee on ICT on the 31st January 2025 data breach that exposed personal and corporate information on the Business Registration Service (BRS) platform via eCitizen. He wants details on when the government first detected the breach, containment measures taken, and the extent of the compromise.

The senator has also called for information on vulnerabilities exploited by hackers, the number of affected individuals and companies and whether those impacted were notified. Additionally, he is pressing for updates on investigations, accountability measures and actions taken by the Data Protection Commissioner to prevent future breaches.