Uhuru should be impeached-CJ Koome

The High Court had directed the President to swear in the six judges

Piece by: The Star
Politics

• CJ Koome wants the appeal court to declare that the solution to the President's refusal to appoint the six is his impeachment from office.

• The High Court had directed the President to swear in the six judges, failure to which the CJ should do so.

in a file photo
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Chief Justice Martha Koome in a file photo
Image: PSCU

Chief Justice Martha Koome now wants President Uhuru Kenyatta impeached for failing to appoint six of the 40 judges nominated by the Judicial Service Commission.

In an appeal against the High Court ruling, CJ Koome wants the appeal court to declare that the solution to the President's refusal to appoint the six is his impeachment from office.

The High Court had directed the President to swear in the six judges, failure to which, the CJ should do so.

The CJ, however, in the appeal case has refused to take up the role and instead seeks the court's declaration that the President has violated Articles 3(1) and 166(1)(b) of the Constitution or any other order that secures direct accountability of the President.

"It is proposed that the court makes a declaration that the President... is in violation of Articles 3(1) and 166(1)(b) of the Constitution. A declaration that the appropriate remedy for the violation of Articles 3(1) and 166(1)(b) of the Constitution is the impeachment of the President or any other order that secures direct accountability of the President," Koome said in the court papers.

The other provision that the CJ accused Uhuru of violating is Article 166(1)(b), which states "the President shall appoint all other judges, in accordance with the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission"

The judges Uhuru refused to appoint are Justices George Odunga, Aggrey Muchelule, Prof Joel Ngugi and Weldon Korir whom the JSC had elevated to the Court of Appeal.

Others are chief magistrate Evans Makori and High Court deputy registrar Judith Omange who was promoted to be High Court judge.

While explaining his reason for refusing to appoint the judges, Uhuru cited a National Intelligence Service report that had briefed him that the six are "tainted".

For the President to be impeached, a motion must be moved by a member of the National Assembly and be supported by at least a third of all the members (231 MPs).

If the court of appeal is to grant the CJ's request, the impeachment is unlikely to materialise considering the president is just 8 weeks away from the expiry of his tenure and the Kenyan Parliament has adjourned indefinitely.

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