President Uhuru Kenyatta No Longer Has Powers To Appoint Chief Justice Of His Choice.

A five-judge bench has dealt a blow to President Uhuru Kenyatta by declaring the amendment to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Act unconstitutional.

The amendment had given the President powers to appoint the Chief Justice and a deputy from three candidates forwarded to him by the Judicial Service Commission.

The judges agreed only one name for the CJ post and one for a deputy should be forwarded to the President for the appointment.

The court observed that by the law allowing three names be forwarded to the President, that will create a leeway for the President to exercise favouritism, manipulation and patronage and thus impact on the independence of those nominated. This, the judges said, will take away the discretion of appointment from the Judicial Service Commission.

Questions on how the next Chief Justice will be selected has raised interests within the political circles of both Jubilee and Cord. Both political outfits want a friendly CJ and lobbying by both sides for their favoured candidates have quietly started.