NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept, 13 – Six judges that had been recommended for appointment, some, to the Court of Appeal by the Judicial Service Commission, only for them to be rejected by outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta can now breathe a sigh of relief after President William Ruto said that they would be appointed on Tuesday.
Ruto said that as part of his commitment to support the country’s third arm of government he would Wednesday preside over their swearing-in.
“To further demonstrate my commitment to the independence of the Judiciary, this afternoon I will appoint the 6 judges already nominated for appointment to the court of appeal, three years ago, by the Judicial Service Commission, and tomorrow, I shall preside over their swearing-in ceremony so that they can get on with the business of serving the people,” he said.
The JSC had recommended 41 Judges subject to appointment by the president to the Court of Appeal, the Environment and Land Court, and the Employment and Labour Relations Court in July 2019.
In a gazette notice last year, the president appointed 34 out of the 41 recommended Judges for appointment in turn rejecting 6 as observers termed the move by the President as a blatant disregard and violation of the constitution.
The judges recommended for appointment to the Court of Appeal included 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 Kenya’s 2010 constitution.
It’s a ruling that legal critics described as one of the most significant 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.
“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 serve in various courts.
President Kenyatta also left out chief magistrate Evans Makori and High Court registrar Judith Omange, who were recommended to be judges of the labour court.
Ruto in his speech further said that they would respect the Judiciary and its decisions in order to consolidate its place in the country’s constitutional and democratic dispensation.
Also, his administration is also expected to scale up the budgetary allocation to the Judiciary.
“Our campaign for financial independence of the Judiciary has paid off with the implementation of the Judiciary Fund, on July 1 st this year. My administration will scale up the budgetary allocation to the judiciary by an additional Ksh 3 billion annually for the next 5 years,”
He said that the resources would support the bottom-up scaling of justice by increasing the number of small claims courts from the current 25 to 100.
“We will also work with the Judiciary to build High Courts in the remaining 7 counties, magistrates courts in the remaining 123 sub-counties and support their ongoing digitization program. These interventions will empower the Judiciary to adjudicate and expeditiously conclude corruption cases, commercial disputes, and all other matters, thereby enhancing access to justice and efficiency in the Judiciary,”
The Judiciary has for years pleaded with the legislative bodies to ensure they receive adequate funds to run their operations.
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