The Court of Appeal on Monday, November 1, 2021, temporarily suspended a High Court order requiring President Uhuru Kenyatta to appoint the remaining six judges within 14 days.
The six judges the President was directed to appoint include; Justices Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Weldon Korir, Aggrey Muchelule, Registrar of the High Court Judy Omange, and Chief Magistrate Evans Kiago.
The High Court gave President Kenyatta a 14-day ultimatum to appoint the six judges he rejected from a list of 40 judges who had been appointed to serve in different courts.
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However, a three-judge bench on Monday consisting of justices Roselyn Nambuye, Wanjiru Karanja, and Imaana Laibuta suspended the order pending a ruling on November 19, 2021.
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The Head of State last week challenged the High Court's decision through his lawyer Waweru Gatonye.
File image of judges Joel Ngungi (left) and George Odunga.
The President argued that the judgement was an attempt to rewrite and amend the Constitution in a manner not contemplated under Chapter 16.
“The judgement and orders of the superior court are patently unconstitutional and have the potential effect of creating a conflict between the office of the Chief Justice and the Office of the President,” his lawyer Gatonye stated in court papers.
The judges were recommended for appointment in 2019, but the Head of State declined to appoint them, creating a cold war between the Executive and the Judiciary.
In 2021, however, President Kenyatta approved 34 Judges but rejected the six.
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