Thirteen apply to be Chief Justice

Thirteen individuals, among them five judges, have applied to become the next Chief Justice.

Interestingly, none of the Supreme Court judges, including Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, feature on the list released by the Judicial Service Commission on Wednesday evening.

Among the applicants are president of the Court of Appeal William Ouko, Court of Appeal judge Martha Koome, High Court judges Said Chitembwe and Nduma Nderi, and their Employment and Labour Relations colleague Gitonga Marete.

Also in the list are Senior Counsels Fred Ngatia, Philip Murgor, Patricia Mbote, Dr Moni Wekesa, Otondi Ontweka, Brian Matagaro and Alice Yano as well as Prof Otunga Mare.

They are seeking to succeed David Maraga who retired last month, and handed over to Justice Mwilu to act as CJ. The JSC also announced that nine people had applied to become judges of the Supreme Court as a replacement for Justice Jackton Ojwang' who retired in February last year.

Among those who applied are Court of Appeal judges Kathurima M’Inoti and Koome, High Court judges Joseph Sergon, Chitembwe and Nduma and Prof Lumumba Nyaberi.

Also on the list are justices Marete, Alice Yano and Dr Lumumba Nyaberi. The deadline for applications for the post of the CJ and a judge of the Supreme Court was Tuesday, February 9 at 5pm.

 “The commission will proceed to shortlist and publicise the list within 14 days as provided in the First Schedule of the Judicial Service Act,” JSC said in a statement.

Once they meet, the JSC will conduct reference checks to review, verify and supplement information provided by applicants. The commission will also communicate to the applicants’ referees and former employers who will be asked to comment on their candidature and get background information.

“Applicants must take note that it is a criminal offence to provide false information and documents in the job application and the same will be verified by relevant bodies,” a gazette notice by acting Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu on January 18 warned.

The next CJ will be the third after the promulgation of the constitution and will be earning a salary of between Sh900,000 and Sh1,327,888. The Salaries and remuneration Commission (SRC) capped the salary of the Chief Justice in 2017 at Sh1.3 million with an entry package of Sh990,000 minus allowances.

To ensure transparency, the JSC Act requires the commission to constitute a selection panel consisting of at least five members.

Their function is be to shortlist persons for nomination by the commission. The JSC will also be filling one position of a Supreme Court judge, which has remained vacant since Justice Ojwang' retired in February last year.

The retirement age of judges is 70 years with the option for early retirement after attaining 65 years, as per Article 167 (1) of the Constitution.