President Kenyatta appoints 7 new Court of Appeal judges
President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed seven judges recently recruited by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to the Court of Appeal.
The announcement was made through a gazette notice issued on July 19, 2022, a week after the JSC recommended their appointment.
The appointees are now waiting to be sworn in and allocation of duties.
They include lawyer Paul Mwaniki Gachoka and High Court judges Luka Kimaru, Lydia Achode, Fredrick Ochieng, John Mativo, Grace Ngenye and Aroni Abida Ali.
President Kenyatta once again snubbed the appointment of six other nominees whose names were submitted to him by the JSC three years ago.
They include Justices George Odunga, Aggrey Muchelule, Prof Joel Ngugi and Weldon Korir together with chief magistrate Evans Makori and High Court registrar Judith Omange. JSC nominated them in July 2019.
In the new appointments, JSC advertised six positions but added another slot after learning that one of the Appellate judges had retired during the interviews.
“One judge of appeal retired after the process began. They (JSC) considered the enormous cost, both in terms of money and time, of undertaking another full recruitment process to fill just one position. It made sense to fill the position that had occurred through this process,” said Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Ann Amadi. She did not disclose the name of the judge who retired.
The seven new judges were nominated following interviews of 26 candidates, including 19 High Court judges and seven lawyers and academicians.
Among prominent persons interviewed for the job but missed the nomination are former electoral commission chairman Hassan Ahmed Isaack and Ms Dorcas Oduor, the Secretary and Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.
President's decision has made JSC fulfill the statutory establishment of the Court of Appeal which is a maximum of 30 judges. Prior to the appointment, the Court had 20 judges.
