- Section 4 (3) of the TATA requires that the chairperson be a person qualified to be appointed as a judge of the High Court.
- But Githinji fails the test since he is a retired judge of the High Court.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
The Law Society of Kenya wants the appointment of retired judge Erastus Githinji as chairperson of the Tax Appeals Tribunal revoked.
In a protest letter to Treasury CS Ukur Yatani, LSK president Nelson Havi says the appointment is unlawful as the judge does not qualify on account of his age.
Githinji was born on December 30, 1949. He was appointed a judge in May 1987 and a judge of the Court of Appeal in June 2003. In a Gazette notice dated April 15, the CS appointed him to the position for a period of five years.
But Havi has asked the judge to reject the appointment. He says the CS should commence a competitive recruitment process. Failure to do so will attract a lawsuit.
“Legal action will be in initiated to remedy your action if the two demands set out are not met within seven days of the date of this letter,” he says
Section 4 (3) of the TATA requires that the chairperson be a person qualified to be appointed as a judge of the High Court. But Githinji fails the test since he is a retired judge of the High Court.
According to Havi, the specialised nature of TAT would require that an advocate with academic and professional qualifications and experience in tax law and procedure be appointed.
He says there is no shortage of such advocates in the membership of the LSK and such an appointment ought to have been done competitively.
“There was no such process in the case of Githinji’s appointment. His appointment violates the principle of good governance,” Havi says.
Githinji's appointment sparked an uproar on social media.
Lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi tweeted, “This obviously is illegal. The person to be appointed chairman of the tribunal must be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the High Court and a retired judge is not so qualified.”
Havi tweeted, “Githinji was admitted to the bar in 1976, a year before I was born. He is 71 years old. He is a retired COA Judge and in the Covid-19 vulnerable category. The government has appointed him chairman of Tax Appeals Tribunal. It is moronic.”
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya