A five judge bench headed by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga will make the decision whether it has the powers to decide the retirement age of Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal and Justice Philip Tunoi/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 14 – The Supreme Court is Tuesday afternoon expected to make a ruling on whether it has the jurisdiction to hear the appeal in the judges’ retirement age case.
A five judge bench headed by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga will make the decision whether it has the powers to decide the retirement age of Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal and Justice Philip Tunoi.
The decision will determine whether the two judges will proceed to retirement.
Tunoi’s lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee and Waweru Gatonye for Justice Rawal demanded that a ruling be given on whether the judges have jurisdiction to entertain appeals by the two challenging the retirement age of 70.
The same plea was echoed by JSC lawyer Paul Muite, and activist Okiya Omtatah, who challenged the court’s powers to entertain the two judges’ cases.
Both Rawal and Tunoi have contested retiring at 70, insisting they want to serve until they turn 74, the retirement age for judges under the old Constitution.
Focus will also be on Justice Njoki Ndung’u, who hurriedly heard an appeal by Justice Rawal’s lawyers and granted a temporary stay of execution of the Court of Appeal verdict, moments after it had ruled that the two judges must retire at 70.
The dispute has complicated the appointment of a new CJ, with Mutunga expected to retire on Thursday.
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