High Court judge Josephine Mong’are is facing growing scrutiny after the Law Society of Kenya placed her court under an indefinite boycott over orders stopping an anti-corruption investigation against her.
In a notice dated July 20, 2026, LSK listed Mong’are as the only judge under cases involving suspended or stopped investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
The society linked her to Nairobi High Court Petition No. E189 of 2026. The targeted boycott begins on Thursday, July 23, a day after advocates stage a nationwide withdrawal from court proceedings.
LSK says the action will continue until the orders restraining EACC, DCI and the Judicial Service Commission are set aside.
Justice Josephine Mong’are: photo Courtesy/X
How Josephine Mong’are stopped EACC investigation
The dispute began after EACC summoned Mong’are to Integrity Centre for questioning over allegations of corrupt conduct and abuse of office.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye subsequently issued conservatory orders stopping EACC, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General from investigating, summoning, questioning, arresting or detaining her.
The orders also prohibited searches of her property and seizure of documents, electronic devices or other material connected to the investigation. Court reports show that journalists and members of the public were later excluded from proceedings involving her petition.
Mong’are argued that EACC attempted to embarrass and intimidate her by sending the summons through a deputy registrar, whom she described as her subordinate.
She also maintained that she had been unfairly singled out from the Commercial and Tax Division and that no related complaint had been lodged against her before the JSC.
However, the combination of orders stopping investigators, preventing searches and locking the public out has intensified questions about transparency and equal treatment under the law.
No court has found Mong’are guilty of corruption or abuse of office. Nevertheless, the controversy raises a difficult accountability question: should a serving judge be allowed to use court orders to shut down an investigation before investigators can question her?
Nelson Havi turns pressure on Martha Koome
Former LSK president Nelson Havi has blamed Chief Justice Martha Koome for what he described as the shielding of judges and magistrates from accountability.
Havi accused Koome of using “decisional independence” to protect judicial officers from scrutiny, saying the controversy had embarrassed both the Judiciary and the JSC.
“It is now total war until she leaves office,” Havi said, while threatening a march to the Supreme Court Building.
The Judiciary has rejected the boycott and maintained that courts will remain open. LSK, however, insists that judicial independence cannot become a barrier against legitimate integrity investigations.
For Mong’are, the issue is no longer hidden inside Petition E189 of 2026. Her attempt to stop EACC has now placed her conduct, her court and the Judiciary’s accountability system under national scrutiny.