NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 9 — The Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) has advertised eighteen ad hoc positions in the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) following the enactment of the amended Political Parties Act.
The ad hoc members will serve for a term not exceeding a year.
“With the new changes, the Judicial Service Commission is to appoint up to eighteen (18) additional members who will serve for a term not exceeding 1 year (ad hoc Members). The ad hoc Members are expected to increase the capacity of the PPDT to resolve disputes arising from the electoral process within the strict statutory timelines,” Chief Justice Martha Koome who chairs the commission said in a notice published on Wednesday.
CJ Koome said the application window will run from February 9 to 16 given the strict election timelines already in place ahead of the August 9 General Election.
She said the selection process will be concluded thereafter without giving specific timelines.
“The Commission expects to conclude the recruitment as soon as possible to allow the new Members to undergo induction and other training on judicial skills and judge-craft before they are deployed to handle cases,” she said.
Prior to the enactment of the amended law on January 27, the Tribunal was composed of a Chairperson and six members who hold office for a non-renewable term of six years.
PPDT is fully constituted with three additional members having been sworn in on October 27, 2021 in the presence of Justice Koome.
Wilfred Mutubwa, Trizah Chepkemei and Kiragu Gathu joined four other members who were already in office for the prescribed fixed term of six years.
The three were appointed by Koome on September 29, after being nominated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which conducted interviews.
Koome called on the new members and the tribunal at large to assure Kenyans that the resolution of the political grievances that may arise from the 2022 General Elections are safe in their hands and justice will be delivered.
“Political Parties Dispute Tribunal is intended to be a democracy enhancing institution thus Kenyans expect you to work towards the realization of the goal of strengthening our constitutional democracy through the resolution of political disputes that arise before, during and after elections, in a just and expeditious manner,’’ Koome said during the installation of the new members.
She further urged them to always be mindful of the principles of the Constitution and bear in mind the history of contested elections in the past and the consequences it led to.
“We need to build confidence of the Kenyans that we have systems and structures in place to guarantee that anybody with a grievance can be heard and responded to with a fair and just judgment,” the CJ appealed.
