NAIROBI,Kenya, June 4 – The president and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Martha Koome has expressed concern over the failure by president Uhuru Kenyatta to appoint 6 persons nominated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to the Court of Appeal and various divisions of the High Court.
Thursday, president Kenyatta through a gazette notice, listed the names of 34 judges set for appointment at the same time leaving out 6 others.
JSC, recommended 41 judges subject to appointment by the president to the Court of Appeal in July,23, 2019 and the Environment and Land Court and Employment and Labour Relations Court in August 13,2019.
“I note with great concern that 6 persons who were recommended by the JSC for appointment were not gazetted. ” the CJ said in a statement Friday evening.
Earlier in the day the 34 judges were sworn in by president Uhuru Kenyatta during a ceremony at State House Nairobi, despite outcry over the failure to appoint the 6 other judges with legal critics deeming Kenyatta’s move as unconstitutional.
“As long as I am president I will choose the right over the convenient, I will choose the hard over the easier choice. I am not doing this for myself,but for the people of Kenya and for posterity. ” said Kenyatta during the swearing in of 34 judges who will serve in various courts.
Koome however in a statement was quick to absolve herself from any wrong doing saying she had no part to play in the aforementioned constitutional process.
“Many people have questioned my role in the process since I assumed office only two weeks ago. I wish to state that I had no part to play in this constitutional process, which was undertaken almost 2 years ago. Upon forwarding the names to the president, the chief justice and the JSC became functus officio (ceased to have any role).”
Judges recommended for appointment to the Court of Appeal and rejected by the president include: Justice Korir Weldon Kipyegon, Muchelule Aggrey Otsyula, Odunga George Vincent and Joel Mwaura Ngugi.
It is worth noting that justice Joel Ngugi and George Odunga were part of a five judge bench of the High Court that issued a scathing verdict that barred fundamental changes to the Kenya constitution 2010.
A ruling legal critics described as one of the most significant rulings since the nullification of the presidential election in 2017 by the country’s Supreme Court.
The judges in their ruling deemed the constitution amendment bill, popularly referred to as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) as irregular, illegal and unconstitutional.
The court further ruled that president Kenyatta could be sued in his personal capacity, having failed the leadership and integrity test since he violated the constitution by vitiating a process ought to have been started by ordinary mwananchi.
It was a ruling that seemed to irk the president and his foe-cum-friend former prime minster Raila Odinga who pledged to challenge the decision at the highest court in the land.
The perceived cherry picking of judges by the president has further seen CJ Koome call on the president to appoint the remaining 6 judges.
“We call upon the president to similarly appoint the remaining 6 judges because the judiciary is still in dire need as the backlog of cases is increasing,” said Koome who further stated that, “We should find a lasting solution so that moving forward this kind of delay and misunderstanding will be a thing of the past.”
The CJ reiterated the independence of the judiciary and the JSC saying it was guaranteed in the constitution and that, “No person, or authority is allowed to direct the JSC or judiciary in the execution of their mandate.”
In January 2014, the Judicial Service Commission recommended the appointment of 25 nominees as judges only for the president in June the same year to appoint 11 judges.
Kenyatta however subsequently appointed the remaining 14, a scenario Koome hopes will repeat itself.
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