Uhuru on the receiving end for rejecting the names of six judges

President Uhuru Kenyatta has been castigated for refusing to promote the names of the six judges from the list of 40 candidates submitted to him by the Judicial Service Commission.

On Thursday, the president gazetted the appointment of 34 judges and said that the rest did not meet the threshold for the appointment.

Four judges from the six rejected had been nominated to be appointed to the Court of Appeal while the two were to be appointed as judge of Land and Environment Courts

The four are the High Court judge Muchelule Aggrey Otsyula, Justice Korir Weldon Kipyegon, Justice George Vincent Odunga, and Justice Joel Mwaura Ngugi.

The other two are Makori Evans Kiago who has been serving as the Chief Magistrate at the judiciary since 2014 to date, and Judith Elizabeth Omange Cheruiyot, who is currently serving as Registrar High Court.

Odunga and Ngugi are among the five-bench judge that termed the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020 as unconstitutional.

Following the president's move, the majority of those who are criticising him say that he does not have the power to choose from the list submitted by JSC.

The Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi said there is no way the judiciary will be independent after the selection of the judges from the list given by JSC for the appointment. 

Havi added that it was all 40 judges or none for former CJ David Maraga, a step that he said was supported by LSK.

The Constitutional lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi said that the “Executive cherry-picking...totally unacceptable,”

Ahmednasir added that this is the big test for Chief Justice Martha Koome and the JSC.

Advocate (Rarieda MP) Otiende Amollo said the president cannot select which judges to gazette after the JSC recommendation.

Lawyer Makau Mutua said that the appointed judges should not take the oath of their offices in solidarity with the rejected four.

Makau added that all the three arms of the government are equal and non should bow to the other one, calling upon the CJ to break her silence and speak up.

Elgeyo Marakwet Kipchumba Murkomen sarcastically congratulated the appointed judges, claiming that their confirmation came after needless and “inordinate delay.”

Murkomen said that “In a blatant violation of the Constitution the President is using the opportunity to punish Judges he does not like and this is a very dangerous path. He is setting a bad precedent.”

Former MP Martha Karua said that cherry-picking of JSC nominees may amount to deliberate intimidation of the Judiciary, especially in view of the uncalled-for attacks of the institution by the president in his speech in Kisumu during the commemoration of Madaraka Day.

The list of the judges was submitted to the president in mid-2019 by Maraga but the president delayed to take the action.

A month after CJ Koome succeeded Maraga, the president has confirmed the appointment, causing varying reactions from Kenyans.