A British national wants a Mombasa judge to recuse himself from hearing a child custody case.
Kevin Barry wants Judge John Onyiengo to step down from hearing a case pitting him and his ex-lover Hellen Maria Imokor over the custody of their child.
The application comes days after the judge threw out an order from the lower court which gave the foreigner the custody of the three-year-old boy.
Judge Onyiengo instead handed over the custody to the boy’s mother Imokor.
Barry wants the matter to be handed over to another competent, unbiased and independent judge who will protect the rights of both parties.
The former Scotland Yard officer termed judge Onyiengo as biased and compromised.
He said the judge proceeded to grant custody to the child’s mother despite presenting evidence showing a history of being dangerous and in constant contempt of several court orders.
Barry said the court disregarded his application to determine the psychological well-being of the mother before being granted custody of the child.
He noted that he had presented evidence showing how his ex-girlfriend threatened and insulted him before and during the course of the suit.
The British said he has lost faith with the present judge following how he has handled the matter and he fears his right to a fair trial will be disregarded.
“The court has acted with impartiality and bias while conducting this trial and I feel that the decision it will make will not be in the interest of justice,” he said.
Last week while issuing a ruling which handed over the custody to Imokor, the judge said Barry’s application alleging that she is mentally sick and unfit to be with the baby and lacks medical support.
He said Barry did not prove the allegation to warrant the court review of the matter and directed both parties to adhere to the directives of the court orders.
Justice Onyiego insisted the court order issued on March 5 this year for Barry to hand over temporary custody of their three-year-old child to the mother is still in force pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
