Court of Appeal Judge Alnashir Visram will be the first to face the Judicial Service Commission from 9am at the Supreme Court Building/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 28 – Interviews for six candidates shortlisted for the position of Chief Justice are scheduled to begin on Monday.
Court of Appeal Judge Alnashir Visram will be the first to face the Judicial Service Commission from 9am at the Supreme Court Building.
High Court Judge Msagha Mbogholi takes the stand on Tuesday, followed by Court of Appeal Judge David Maraga on Wednesday.
According to a schedule released by JSC, former Committee of Experts on the Constitution Review chairman Nzamba Kitonga and the only non-judge among the shortlisted candidates is listed to appear before the interview panel on Thursday.
Lady Justice Roselyn Nambuye and Supreme Court Judge Smokin Wanjala will wrap up the interviews on Friday and Saturday respectively.
JSC Acting Chairperson Margaret Kobia said they will be looking for persons with excellent legal minds, strategic managers with social and interpersonal skills.
Interviews for 13 candidates eyeing the office of Deputy Chief Justice will kick off on September 9 to September 15.
Candidates for Supreme Court Judge are slated to appear before the JSC on September 26 to October 7.
Meanwhile High Court Judge George Odunga is expected to deliver a ruling in a petition by human rights activists seeking to stop the interviews and the whole process of short listing done afresh.
Through their lawyer Elisha Ongoya, the groups said that the entire process is flawed and violates the Constitution.
“The JSC got it wrong, this time round the remedy is in quashing the process so far. The remedy is in allowing the process to start afresh guided by the erudite submissions by the applicants before you and the eventual determination by this court on how the process ought to be better conducted,” he said.
While making his presentation in Mombasa, Ongoya said requirements for JSC that candidates must present clearance certificates from the Kenya Revenue Authority, Higher Education Loans Board is likely to lock out potential, qualified candidates.
JSC lawyers led Ochieng Odoul and Njoroge Regeru however said that the JSC followed the due process in advertising the positions and wants the court to quash the petition.
“If the documents had been sourced by the commission as had been suggested by the petitioners and maybe there was a mistake then obviously a horrendous injustice would be done to the applicants. Here it is the applicants themselves who went to those independent bodies and agencies to get those documents, so of course if there was any error they would have noticed and they would have asked those agencies to correct them and the Credit Reference Bureau, for instance that this check you said bounced rarely was paid and it would be corrected,” Regeru argued.
“So there was opportunity for them, so that whatever documents they bring to us are reflective of the correct position.”
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