The High Court has dismissed a petition by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah challenging the appointment of judges to Kenya’s Court of Appeal, ruling that the process was constitutional and above board.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Lawrence Mugambi said there was no evidence the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) had ignored legal or constitutional requirements when selecting the candidates.
“The JSC applied the same standards of integrity, competence and suitability to all judges seeking elevation,” Justice Mugambi said. He noted that the petition failed to show any bias or irregularity in the recruitment.
Omtatah, a veteran activist known for his courtroom battles, had argued that the JSC acted unlawfully by expanding the list of appointments. The commission had initially advertised six vacancies but later named seven successful candidates.
He further claimed the process was discriminatory, pointing out that no judges from the Employment and Labour Relations Court or the Environment and Land Court were included. Instead, the appointments went to High Court judges and one lawyer from private practice.
But the court rejected these arguments. Justice Mugambi stressed that appointments were not a contest between different courts and that demanding quotas would be unconstitutional. “Imposing such requirements would amount to amending the Constitution through the back door,” he said.
The ruling is a setback for Omtatah, who has often positioned himself as a public watchdog on issues of governance and constitutional order. It also offers relief to the JSC, whose decisions have frequently drawn scrutiny in Kenya’s politically charged judicial landscape.
For now, the newly appointed appellate judges can take up their posts without further legal hurdles, closing a case that had threatened to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the selection process.
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