Lawyers' body drafting new Chief Justice list

The Law Society of Kenya is preparing a list of lawyers it does not want considered for the position of Chief Justice when it falls vacant in February.

LSK has teamed up with the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) and International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) to draw up the list.

It will then be handed over to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Under the Judicial Reform Think Tank, the lawyers say that the move is aimed at ensuring that the appointee is of high integrity as required by chapter six of the Constitution.

“We have undertaken an evidence-based research both on conduct and practice of possible candidates and have established a list of person who under no circumstance should be considered for appointment to this office,” the group said in a statement issued at the Serena Hotel, Nairobi Friday.

"The Judicial Reform Think Tank will share this list with the President and Prime Minister in order to avoid any such person being unconstitutionally appointed to the office of Chief Justice."

They added that they will publish the list to the larger public if they find it necessary.

The groups also said that the new Chief Justice cannot be appointed from the present Judiciary because the current judges and magistrates have not been vetted.

The lawyers added that this did not mean that the current judges were not fit for office since some would be cleared in the vetting process.

They, however, cited the likely length of time necessary to form the vetting body for the judges and magistrates.

“As it sits now none of the judges will have been vetted within the six months and therefore will not be fit for office,” said Fida chairperson Naomi Wagereka.

The new Constitution requires that the current Chief Justice Evans Gicheru vacates office by February 27 next year. The President and the PM are required to appoint a new CJ, who will then be approved by parliament.

A bill to enact a law that will set the mechanism for the vetting of judges was published this week and is expected to be tabled before parliament when it resumes from its break on.

The vetting of the judges is supposed to be completed within one year.