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Herald Reporter

With the resolution of the long-standing dispute in Kenya between President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Kenyan Judicial Service Commission, judges for 34 vacancies in a range of courts from the Court of Appeal down were appointed yesterday.

According to the Kenya Gazette published yesterday, President Kenyatta appointed seven judges to the Court of Appeal, nine to serve in the Employment and Labour Relations Court, and 18 to serve in the Environment and Land Court.

In Kenya, there was what appeared to be a long-standing impasse in the appointment of the judges since former Chief Justice David Maraga’s tenure. 

As in Zimbabwe, the Kenyan President has to act on advice and recommendations from the Judicial Service Commission but last year, President Kenyatta declined to appoint and swear in the judges because he thought 18 nominees were tainted and unsuitable for appointment or promotion. 

The stalemate left the Judiciary and Executive trading blame for months with the Law Society of Kenya and other organisations challenging the president’s refusal to make the appointments.

The resolution of the difference of opinion meant that the large batch of judges could now be appointed.

Zimbabwe has also seen a large group of judicial appointments recently, but arising from the end of the interim constitutional provisions whereby some of the judges of the Supreme Court would simultaneously sit on the Constitutional Court. 

Following the split in the two benches, President Mnangagwa recently appointed the required five judges of the Constitutional Court, who form that court with the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice, from the list of nominees from the Zimbabwean Judicial Service Commission (JSC) following public interviews to fill the vacancies held in September last year. 

As all five judges came from the Supreme Court, there were now vacancies in that court, and so this week six senior judges of the High Court, again on advice from the (JSC), were promoted by President Mnangagwa and were sworn in yesterday.  — Additional reporting Capitalfm.co.ke