New Chief Justice to be picked in a month

One nominee for Chief Justice will be handed to the President and Prime Minister in a month.

A member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), speaking on condition he is not identified because of the confidentiality of the selection process, said the commission would not give the appointing authority more than one name.

The nominee will be selected from 10 candidates short-listed on Monday by the JSC.

The public will be allowed to make comments about the candidates before they are interviewed between May 3 and May 12. Comments about the suitability of those short-listed can be made through the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) or the secretary of the JSC.

The commissioner said the JSC would also forward one nominee for Deputy CJ in a bid to force the principals into consensus on the appointments.

The Constitution does not explicitly require the commission to send more than one nominee to the principals.

The short-listed candidates were announced by Mr Titus Gateere.

“We are ready to commence interviews on May 3 until May 12 uninterrupted. And by the end of that week Kenyans will have a Chief Justice,” Mr Gateere said.

With the exception of Dr Willy Mutunga, the others are serving judges of the Court of Appeal, High Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

Dr Mutunga, one of the most respected figures in legal and civil society circles, has taught law at the University of Nairobi, is a former chairman of the LSK and currently regional head of the Ford Foundation.

The appellate judges in the race are Justices Riaga Omollo, Samuel Bosire, Alnashir Visram and Joseph Nyamu.

From the High Court are Justices Kihara Kariuki, Mbogholi Msagha, Mary Ang’awa and Kalpana Rawal.

Also on the short list is ICTR’s Lee Muthoga.

Two applicants, Ghanaian Emmanuel Torgbor (retired judge) and lawyer Timothy Bryant, were dropped.

Women dominate list

Of the 13 applications for Deputy CJ, eight made it to the interview stage. Only one of those short-listed is male. The candidates are justices Mary Ang’awa, Roselyne Nambuye, Mary Kasango, Hannah Okwengu, Martha Koome and Mr Justice John Nyamu.

Others are lawyers Nancy Baraza and Gladys Shollei.

The candidates for both jobs should have at least 15 years experience as a superior court judge, distinguished academic, judicial officer or legal practitioner.

They are also expected to have high moral character, integrity and impartiality and to demonstrate a high degree of professional competence, communication skills, fairness and good temperament.

After conducting interviews, the JSC will make recommendations to the Head of State, who will in turn appoint the Chief Justice after approval by Parliament.

The Chief Justice may serve for 10 years subject to the retirement age of 70. The process of replacing Mr Justice Evan Gicheru stalled after President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga failed to agree on the President’s nomination of Mr Justice Visram.

The President had also nominated Prof Githu Muigai as Attorney-General, Mr Kioko Kilukumi as the Director of Public Prosecution and Mr William Kirwa as Controller of Budget.

However, Mr Odinga said he had not been consulted as required by the Constitution.

The JSC and the Committee on Implementation of the Constitution also faulted the nominations.

The President was also accused of failing to involve the JSC, which is mandated to oversee judicial appointments and operations.

The controversy ended up in court where Justice Daniel Musinga declared the nominations unconstitutional on the grounds that they ignored gender equality and JSC’s role.

This forced the Head of State to withdraw the nominations and start the process afresh.