Nairobi, Kenya, Sept 12-The Law Society of Kenya has called on the incoming President William Ruto to appoint Judges of the Court of Appeal and the High Court who were left out by his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta despite a recommendation by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The appeal comes more than a year after the outgoing President declined to appoint four judges- Aggrey Muchelule, George Odunga, Weldon Korir and Joel Ngugi into the Court of Appeal, a move that put him on a collision course with the Judiciary.
LSK President Eric Theuri said Monday that the new administration should also prioritize allocating adequate resources to allow the judiciary to function effectively.
“We urge the incoming administration to allocate more resources through a supplementary budget to the Judiciary to recruit more Judges and fill the gaps of more than 100 Judges required for the Judiciary to function optimally,” Theuri told a news conference in Nairobi.
Kenyatta declined to appoint the judges, citing a confidential intelligence report which was never made public.
He further called on Ruto to make a commitment to support and lead the fight against corruption and illicit financial flows in the country.
Theuri argued that the past fight against corruption had been weaponized by the state calling on the incoming government to be impartial in fighting the vice.
While commenting on extrajudicial killings, Theuri urged the incoming administration to make a commitment to conduct thorough investigations into the disappearance and killings of Kenyans including the IEBC officials during the electioneering period, in order to bring the culprits to book and uphold the integrity of the election process.
The LSK congratulated Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua for their election and subsequent Supreme Court validation of their election.
“We also wish to congratulate the Hon. Moses Wetangula. Hon. Amason Kingi and Hon. Gladys Shollei, who are Advocates and members of the Society in good standing for their election as Speakers of the National Assembly, Senate, and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Deputy respectively,” Theuri said.
