This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
June 15, 2020
A standoff between President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Judiciary has led to a blame game among Judicial Service Commission (JSC) members over the appointment of new judges.
Chief Justice David Maraga, who chairs the JSC, has accused Attorney General Kihara Kariuki and President Uhuru of disobeying court orders. Maraga claims the AG never filed an appeal to challenge a High Court ruling requiring Uhuru to appoint 41 judges within 14 days.
However, the AG blames JSC for appointing judges with questionable character and accuses the High Court of failing to furnish him with the typed proceedings to enable him appeal the ruling.
Law Society of Kenya (LSK) representative Macharia Njeru has also turned against the JSC, claiming his proposal to nominate two lawyers from private practice to the Court of Appeal was rejected.
Senior lawyer Nzamba Kitonga has weighed in on the issue, stating that JSC's function is about collective responsibility and that Justice Kihara's taking of a different position from that of the commission amounts to conflict of interest.
Meanwhile, the AG has urged the High Court to dismiss a case seeking to allow the nominees to assume office as judges without Uhuru's appointment, arguing that Justices Lydiah Achode, Chacha Mwita, and James Makau have no powers to reopen the case.
Lawyer Adrian Kamotho, who filed the case, argues that the President had no option but to obey the orders and wants the court to order the Controller of Budget to authorise withdrawal of funds for the new judges' salaries and the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to provide them with security.
