The Office of the Chief Justice of Kenya is vacant once again as CJ David Kenani Maraga retires. He has already started his terminal leave and from 12 January he will officially retire.
The process of searching for the next Chief Justice and President of Supreme Court has commenced in earnest.
Below are the top 10 contenders for the vacant post. This list is not organized in any special order.
1) Justice Njoki Ndungu;- Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She holds an LL.M in human rights and civil liberties.
2) Justice Philomena Mwilu; She is the current Deputy Chief Justice. She has over 32 years of experience in the legal profession. She was admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya in 1984. She previously worked as a senior legal manager at Jubilee Insurance Company. In 2007, she was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Kenya. In 2012, she was promoted to the Court of Appeal and in Oct 2016 she was appointed the Deputy Chief Justice.
3) Professor Githu Muigai; – Former Chief Justice of Kenya. According to Mohamed Muigai LLC, “Professor Githu Muigai hold an LLB and a PhD from the University of Nairobi, an LLM from the Colombia University Law School and Diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb).”
4) Isaac Lenaola; – A Kenyan lawyer and judge of Supreme Court.
5) Smokin Wanjala; “holder of a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B, Hons.) from the University of Nairobi, a Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law, a Master of Laws (LL.M) from Columbia University, New York and a Doctorate in Law (PhD) from the University of Ghent, Belgium,” according to Kenya Law website.
Dr. Smokin Wanjala was a law lecturer for over 20 years before he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya.
6) Mohamed Ibrahim; He was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya in June, 2011. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree and was admitted to the Roll of Advocates in 1983.
7) Dr. Fred Ojiambo; He was admitted to the Bar in 1975. He was a previous chair of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and now is a Senior Counsel.
8) Prof Makau Mutua; He is a distinguished professor at SUNY Buffalo School of Law and was a Dean at that school from 2008 – 2014. He is the Chairman of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
9) Justice William Ouko – Current court of Appeal President. He previously served as the Registrar of High Court in 2002. According to the Judiciary website, “Mr Justice Ouko holds a Master of Arts degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice (MACJ), Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from the University of Nairobi and a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Kenya School of Law. He attended Senior Management Course training at Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA), Administration of Courts in the USA and the Judicial Administration at the Royal Institute of Public Administration UK, Good Governance and Accountability in Washington International Management Institute (WIMI), USA.”
10) Ahmednassir Abdullahi:
Ahmednassir Abdullahi is a Senior Counsel in Kenya. He represented the LSK at the Judicially Service Commission. He has previously worked as a consultant for NGOs, World Bank, Government of Kenya, UN Agencies and State Corporations. He acted for the IEBC during the Supreme Court case regarding the 2013 elections. He was the lead counsel for the Office of the President in the Waki Commission investigating the 2007/2008 post election violence. Finally, he has taught law at the University of Nairobi for 12 years.
Of course the list is not exhaustive. Other candidates will apply.
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