Independent Kenya’s 12th Chief Justice, Willy Munyoki Hassanali Mutunga, yesterday called time on his tenure at the summit of the country’s Judiciary amid a hail of controversy.
His exit, together with those of his deputy Lady Justice Kalpana Rawal and their Supreme Court colleague Justice Philip Tunoi now leaves the Bench’s succession battle wide open.
A day before Dr Mutunga’s departure, he, as CJ and chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), called for applications for the replacement of Rawal and Tunoi seats, in a paid up media advert.
Mutunga left only hours after sealing the fate of his two colleagues both of who had refused to retire at the age of 70. Mutunga affirmed an earlier Court of Appeal ruling that had shown the duo the door.
Thus, he goes into retirement jointly with the two, with the highest court in the land now left with just four members who do not constitute a sitting quorum.
Focus on the see-saw of events in Judiciary now turns to JSC and the eminent men and women angling to succeed the three justices.
Last November, JSC opted not to proceed with the recruitment of a new DCJ to take over from Rawal until her case and that of Tunoi were determined.
The succession fray is now said to be a tussle between long-serving conservative insiders who feel the next CJ should come from within the Judiciary and not the civil society or private sector on grounds that the leadership of Mutunga, who was hired directly from the civil society, had serious challenges on service delivery. On the other hand are the outsiders, or pro-change team who vouch for names from outside the Judiciary.
Though the fray to name a successor is just beginning, some names dropped as possible applicants include Justice David Maraga of the Court of Appeal, Attorney-General Githu Muigai, Court of Appeal President Justice Paul Kariuki and Supreme Court judge Justice Smokin Wanjala.
Control strings
Other names mentioned in the Mutunga succession include former chair of the Constitution Implementing Commission (CIC) Charles Nyachae, former Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende, the dean of students at the University of Nairobi’s School of Law Patricia Kameri-Mbote and High Court judges Msagha Mbogoli and Isaac Lenaola.
Lead king-maker who was seen to have pushed successfully pushed for Mutunga appointment Ahmednasir Abdullahi is still said to hold the control strings in JSC, where he no longer serves but remains their lawyer.
By dint of their current stations, Githu, Kihara and Wanjala are variously rated as strong contenders.
The People Daily established that after being persuaded and goaded by fellow ‘learned friends’, Maraga had acceded to requests to go for the position once it is declared vacant.
He contested for the position of Court of Appeal President against Justices Kihara and Erastus Githinji, losing by a mere one vote to Kihara.
Last year, Maraga sprung into the limelight following his well-argued individual judgement in favour of indigenous media owners during the controversial digital migration case.
On the DCJ front, prior to Rawal’s decision to contest her retirement, JSC had received applications from eight candidates for it. They are Court of Appeal judges Wanjiru Karanja, Lady Justice Roselyne Nambuye, Agnes Murgor, Philomena Mwilu and Lady Justice Lydiah Achode of the High Court, lawyers Surinder Kapila and Pamela Tutui, formerly of a commissioner with the defunct Interim Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
Pundits within legal circles had been strongly vouching for Lady Justices Wanjiru, Nambuye and Murgor as the front-runners in the race to replace Rawal.
A stiff contest looms.
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