This archive report was first published on 3 May 2021.
On May 3, 2021, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) wrote to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) expressing concerns over the hasty announcement of the nominee for the Chief Justice position.
According to LSK President Nelson Havi, the announcement was made within hours of a Court of Appeal ruling that stayed orders of the High Court, which had barred the JSC from deliberating on the outcome of interviews for Chief Justice and undertaking interviews for the Judge of the Supreme Court.
LSK argues that the circumstances surrounding the announcement raise fundamental concerns on the independence of the Commission.
The High Court had issued orders to pave way for the hearing and determination of four cases challenging the recruitment process, including the suitability of Prof. Olive Mugenda to serve as a Commissioner and the competence of Patrick Gichohi, who has since retired from the Public Service Commission.
The petitions claim it's illegal for Mugenda to hold two state jobs and that Gichohi cannot continue representing PSC while he is a retiree.
LSK maintains that the fundamental issues pending at the High Court have been defeated unconstitutionally and challenges the JSC to come out clean on the process of recruitment.
Either, the Society accuses some Commissioners of deliberately colluding to skew the scores in favour of a certain candidate, after one of the candidates for the position accused some commissioners of altering his scores.
