Appellate judges first on the vetting bench
Appellate judges will be the first judicial officers to appear before the vetting tribunal. And the exercise could start before December, it emerged on Wednesday.
The judges would be vetted to determine if they should be fired or retained in line with the new Constitution.
A Bill to set up the vetting process will be among the first to be tabled in Parliament once President Kibaki promulgates the new Constitution on August 27.
The Bill was discussed at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting and Court of Appeal judges will be the first before the nine-member tribunal followed by High Court judges, chief magistrates and other judicial officers in that order.
Those who do not want to be vetted can retire without loss of benefits. The tribunal has a year to do its work but Parliament can extend its mandate by another year.
The Bill however ignores demands by judges that the National Security Intelligence Service and the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission be in the tribunal.
The tribunal will consider if a judge has complaints from any citizen, professional body or government agency. It will also dig into the past conduct and track record.
The tribunal’s findings will be given to the officer in writing and also made public.
