This archive report was first published on 10 July 2020.
July 10, 2020 - Nairobi, Kenya - Human rights activist Okiya Omtatah has taken President Uhuru Kenyatta to court over the appointment of judges.
Omtatah wants the Employment and Labour Relations Court to determine whether nominees for appointment as judges should be presented to Parliament for vetting before the President can appoint them.
According to Omtatah, the High Court's ruling that President Kenyatta has no power to review or reject names forwarded to him by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is flawed.
Omtatah argues that judges are public employees and that disputes related to their employment should be determined by the Labour Court, not the High Court.
He cites Article 132 (2) of the Constitution, which states that the President, with the approval of the National Assembly, shall appoint or dismiss a State or Public officer.
The dispute between President Kenyatta and Chief Justice David Maraga has been ongoing, with the President declining to make appointments based on advice from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) that some of the judges have integrity issues.
Chief Justice Maraga has argued that the President has no authority to fail to appoint the judges as recommended by JSC, citing the impact on stalled cases in court.
