This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
On June 18, 2020, Constitutional expert Nzamba Kitonga called for the restructuring of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to enhance transparency.
Kitonga, who chaired the Committee of Experts on Constitutional review, proposed that the JSC have only one judge and does not want the Attorney General on it.
"The JSC has not been transparent in its work," he said during a Webinar hosted by the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists.
The proposal comes at a time when the JSC is locked in a vicious tussle with the Executive, after President Uhuru Kenyatta declined to appoint 41 new judges proposed by the commission.
Kitonga suggested replacing the Attorney General with the Treasury Cabinet Secretary on the JSC, citing the need for the commission to be advised on the budget available for the recruitment of judges.
He cited an incident where former Attorney General Prof Githu Muigai advised against the appointment of some judges during his tenure, resulting in a crisis similar to the current one.
The judges were only sworn in after a court order was obtained against the President.
