Editor's Review

  • Justice William Ouko nominated as Supreme Court judge, JSC has forwarded his name to President Kenyatta for official appointment.

Court of Appeal judge, Justice William Ouko has been nominated to the Supreme Court of Kenya.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, April 5 2021 by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) who were vetting judges for the post,

During the announcement, JSC said Justice Ouko's name had been submitted to President Uhuru Kenyatta for the appointment.

"The Judicial Service Commission has nominated Justice William Ouko, President Court of Appeal, for appointment as Judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya. This follows three days of public interviews of the 7 candidates who had applied for the vacancy," a statement on JSC's Twitter read.

He beat six other candidates who had been interviewed for the Supreme Court judge job. They included Justice Chitembwe Said Juma, Justice Marete D. K. Njagi, Justice Nduma Mathews Nderi, Dr. Nyaberi Justry Patrick Lumumba, Justice Sergon Joseph Kiplagat, and Justice Yano Alice Jepkoech.

Last week the JSC finalized the process of evaluating candidates for the position of Chief Justice of Kenya and nominated Lady Justice Martha Koome.

Lady Justice Koome had previously sought the Chief Justice but was unsuccessful. Her appointment was also met with hiccups after her competitor Senior Counsel Fred Ngatia claimed he was rigged out of the CJ position by some commissioners of the JSC.

Ngatia who was believed to be among the frontrunners alleged that some commissioners reduced his marks after receiving calls from influential people.

LSK's President Nelson Havi also challenged the appointment of Justice Koome stating that she failed to show judgment without favoritism, and without ulterior motives.

The lawyer's body further argued that her conduct in the three cases did not warrant her an appointment as Chief Justice.

Some of the mentioned cases included; the National Cereals and Produce Board versus Erad Suppliers and General Contractors Limited, the unprecedented night ruling of the Court of Appeal on October 25, 2017.