The Muslims for Human Rights lobby has expressed concern over the speed with which Martha Koome has been appointed Chief Justice.
Muhuri, through its chairman Khelef Khalifa, on Wednesday said that the holder of the CJ office must be beyond reproach.
In a statement, Khalifa said that there are ethical and integrity questions facing Koome that are yet to be determined.
“Unless these issues are fully and satisfactorily resolved, the public trust and legitimacy of Judge Koome will drastically be denied,” Khalifa said.
He added that there are court cases seeking to compel JSC to make public the scores of all the candidates interviewed for the CJ’s seat.
“The hurried convening of a special session by the National Assembly to approve Judge Koome as the CJ is highly suspect. Muhuri urges Kenyans to be very wary and alert.”
The lobby group also wants the CJ appointee to recuse herself from the BBI judgment appeal.
“This approval process is being done hurriedly when the AG Paul Kihara is trying to appeal the BBI judgment by the Constitutional Court…a CJ has the mandate to empanel the Court of Appeal bench to hear the BBI judgment appeal.”
Khalifa has also claimed that the recent events from the AG and the National Assembly are linked to BBI.
“The only honourable thing for Judge Koome to do is recuse herself from any matter relating to BBI.”
This comes after the president gazetted Koome's appointment as the CJ, hours after being cleared by the National Assembly.
She will take the oath of office on Thursday, becoming the first woman to hold the CJ’s office.
Members of the National Assembly unanimously voted to approve the report of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee that recommended her approval to succeed retired CJ David Maraga.
