Green light for Kenya’s Supreme Court

Posted by AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE on August 25, 2011

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 – Kenya’s Supreme Court will now begin its work after the High Court rejected a bid by women organisations to block five judges from taking up their offices.

A three judge constitutional bench dismissed the case by Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Kenya Chapter and other women lobbies who had argued that nomination of one woman out of the five judges was against the constitutional requirement of not having more than two-thirds of the same gender in public bodies.

Justices John Mwera, Mohammed Warsame and Philomena Mwilu ruled on Thursday that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) did not breach the Constitution when they nominated the five judges.

JSC had appointed Justices Philip Tunoi, Jackton Ojwang, Mohammed Ibrahim, Njoki Ndungu and Smokin Wanjala to the highest court in the land.

The five will be sitting under Chief Justice Willy Mutunga as President and his deputy Nancy Baraza as Vice President of the court.

High Court judge Jeanne Gacheche had in June blocked the swearing in of the five judges following an application by FIDA and five other women lobby groups that the nomination of the five judges did not reflect gender balance.

The lobbies went to court citing constitutional provisions that require that no more than two thirds of elective bodies shall be of the same gender.