A fresh showdown is looming between Jubilee and the Judiciary as the ruling Coalition pushes for radical changes to a law that has been viciously opposed by the Judiciary.
The government wants all Judicial Service Commission nominees to be vetted by Parliament in a move that is likely to cause a fresh showdown with the Judiciary.
The Judiciary has previously opposed attempts to amend the the Judicial Service Act 2011.
The Star has established the government has kicked off the process of amending the act to make it mandatory for all JSC nominees to be vetted.
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The details emerged just days after MPs adopted a controversial report blocking the appointment of Court of Appeal Judge Mohamed Warsame to the JSC.
MPs said Warsame was not vetted by Parliament.
The MPs ignored prohibitory orders by the High Court directing that Justice Warsame should not be vetted, pending the hearing and determination of a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya.
JSC, through Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi, told Parliament that the push to grill Warsame was unconstitutional.
Apart from three presidential nominees, JSC members are not vetted by Parliament.
“The JSC holds the considered view that the approval of Justice Warsame by Parliament is neither provided for in the Constitution of Kenya 2010 nor the Judicial Service Act 2011,” Amadi said in a letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly Michael Sialai.
The government, through National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, now wants to change sections of the JSC Act to make it mandatory for all members to be vetted.
The amendments are contained in the Statute Law (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2018.
If passed, a Supreme Court Judge, Court of Appeal Judge, a High Court Judge and a magistrate elected to the JSC will have to be vetted by MPs.
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Also to be vetted are two lawyers elected by LSK and one person nominated by the Public Service Commission.
Only the Chief Justice is exempted from vetting according to the proposed changes.
The move is seen as an attempt to influence membership of the powerful commission, given the terms of LSK representatives Tom Ojienda and Mercy Deche end early next year.
Duale also wants the period of vetting the nominees extended from seven to 14 days.
The push is likely to further poison the relationship between the government and the Judiciary that hit a new low after the nullification of President Uhuru Kenyatta's victory last year.
A furious Uhuru Kenyatta said there was a problem with Judiciary and promised to fix it.
"We shall revisit this thing. We clearly have a problem," he said a day after the nullification of his victory by the Supreme Court.