Lawyers seek to overturn Uhuru powers to handpick CJ
Chief Justice Willy Mutunga. The Law Society of Kenya says the changes were sneaked into the Miscellaneous Amendments Bill and not subjected to meaningful public debate. PHOTO | FILE
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LSK says allowing the President to handpick the Chief Justice will give the impression that the Judiciary is an extension of the Executive.
Lawyers have filed a case seeking to overturn an amendment by the National Assembly that granted President Uhuru Kenyatta the power to handpick the next Chief Justice.
High Court Judge Justice George Odunga on Wednesday certified the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) suit as urgent, and ordered that it should be heard inter-parties on Wednesday next week, during the court vacation.
The National Assembly made the amendments to the Judicial Service Act on December 1 and shortly afterwards it was assented into law by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
LSK holds that the changes were sneaked into the Miscellaneous Amendments Bill and not subjected to meaningful public participation hence were passed illegally. The lawyers reckon that allowing the President to handpick the Chief Justice will give the impression that the Judiciary is an extension of the Executive.
The new laws, if allowed to stand, will see the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) nominate three candidates each for the posts of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice. The President will then pick one nominee for each of the two posts and forward their names to Parliament for vetting.
“The amendments are meant to achieve a collateral purpose of limiting the independence of the JSC and the Judiciary. The Bill that was published on September 18, 2015 never contained the impugned amendments. These far-reaching amendments were only introduced later on, on the floor of the House,” LSK’s lawyer Nzamba Kitonga argued.
Prior to the amendments, the Judicial Service Commission would, after conducting interviews, recommend one candidate each for the post of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice to the President. The President would then forward the nominees’ names to Parliament for vetting.
Justice George Odunga yesterday declined to issue an order stopping the implementation of the new laws until he has heard arguments from both sides.
He directed the LSK to furnish the National Assembly with the court documents before close of business today, and to appear before him on January 13 for a hearing.
“It is in my view that this application is urgent and must be heard within seven days. I am however not convinced that any adverse action will be taken by the respondents within the next seven days,” Justice Odunga held.
The amendments come as Chief Justice Willy Mutunga prepares to leave office in June.
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