“The Chief Registrar of the Judiciary and the Attorney General are aware of this requirement but they too failed to advice the DCJ and have also failed to take any action to ensure compliance with Article 74 of the Constitution,” swore Omtatah.
Should Omtatah’s case succeed, all the official functions Mwilu has performed as acting CJ will be nullified.
Some of the duties she has performed since January 13 as acting CJ include swearing-in of Judicial Service Commissioner Everlyne Olwande, opening court stations and appointing High Court judges to hear constitutional petitions.
Omtatah submitted that the DCJ’s continued performance of duties reserved for the CJ is setting bad precedence for the public.
THE STANDARD
NAIROBI
Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu (left) and Chief Registrar of Judiciary Anne Amadi when they visited the Lang ata Women s Prison in 2017. [File, Standard]
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) wants the court to throw out a case filed in Meru, seeking to have acting Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu step aside as it hears petitions against her.
In its reply to the case filed before the High Court in Meru, the Commission, through its Secretary Anne Amadi, opposed the case filed by Mwongela Mbiti, but tells the court that it needs to urgently settle four cases filed for her removal to avert a looming crisis.
Revealed: Names of Judges on the race to replace CJ Maraga
The process of recruiting the next Chief Justice is expected to kick off today once the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) declares a vacancy.
Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi says once the vacancy has been declared, it will be published in the Kenya Gazette to pave the way for interested candidates to apply.
“We have already laid in place the procedures and rules on how the candidates would be shortlisted, interviewed, marks scored and how the eventual decision on who would be appointed the next Chief Justice would be settled on,” Amadi said
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