Ruto ends 3-year standoff, appoints six rejected judges

An impasse lasting more than three years over the appointment of six judges ended yesterday when they were sworn in at State House in a ceremony witnessed by President William Ruto.

The dispute led to accusations that the initial list of judges—that then-President Uhuru Kenyatta was opposed to—had been altered, to settle scores with some who had scuttled the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) campaign to amend the Constitution. 

In mid-2019, the names of 41 judges were forwarded to Mr Kenyatta by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for the appointment, but he rejected the six, citing adverse reports by the spy agency. 

However, Dr Ruto, yesterday said his administration will respect the independence of the Judiciary and all other institutions in a manner that makes them efficient to deliver on their respective mandates.

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In a veiled reference to his former boss, the President said he will emphasise the rule of law and not of man as he seeks to deal firmly and decisively with impunity, with the rule of law acting as the benchmark. 

He reiterated that all the arms of government will have limitations, including the Executive, and live within the terms of their mandates.

Equality

“Kenya can only become better if we become a country of the rule of law. Any other route leads to anarchy. We are equal before the law and our Constitution and, therefore, there must never be the case of the animal farm where there are people who are more equal than others.

“Even as President, I have limitations and I should respect them. All other arms of government have limitations and we must all live within the terms of our mandates so that we can have a country built on the rule of law. I know the judges here had waited a bit longer than they should, but all that ends well is well,” he added.

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The exclusion of the six when Mr Kenyatta appointed the rest in June 2021 sparked a bitter row with Chief Justice Martha Koome, who was backed by her predecessors, Justices David Maraga and Willy Mutunga, who protested that the President could not cherry-pick from a list forwarded by the JSC.

Judges Joel Ngugi, Weldon Korir, George Odunga and Aggrey Muchelule had been nominated to the Court of Appeal, and Evans Makori and Judith Omange to the Environment and Land Court. 

Mr Maraga, who oversaw the recruitment of the judges during his tenure, protested in retirement that the list presented by the JSC had been altered on Mr Kenyatta’s watch.

“The names have changed. Those who were said to have issues, some have been added to that list and others have been removed,” Mr Maraga told KTN News in an interview on June 9, 2021. 

Dr Mutunga, had a day earlier alluded to the change. “Strikingly, the presidential ‘list of hate’ has even mysteriously changed, meaning that the objection to the judges’ nomination is driven more by personal pique rather than principle.

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That is not the way to conduct the serious business of the state,” Dr Mutunga wrote in an open letter to the President dated June 8, 2021. 

Mr Maraga, who had succeeded Dr Mutunga in October 2016, had a frosty relationship with Mr Kenyatta, that hit rock bottom in August 2017 when the Supreme Court nullified the former head of state’s re-election. Mr Maraga retired in January 2021. 

Critics read malice in the rejection of Prof Ngugi and Mr Odunga, who sat on the five-judge High Court bench that stopped the BBI that was fronted by Mr Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga. But Mr Kenyatta, on June 5, 2021, insisted he would not back down. 

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