Victor Raballa and Mark Mbugua @PeopleDailyKe
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has appointed a team of lawyers to challenge the amendments that seek to give the President powers to appoint the next Chief Justice and his deputy after the retirement of the two later this year.
LSK chairman Eric Mutua told People Daily yesterday that the documents are now ready to be filed in court today. He said the four include LSK representative to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Tom Ojienda, former Committee of Experts (CoE) chair Nzamba Kitonga, Michael Mucheni and Peter Wanyama.
The LSK boss said amending Section 39 of JSC Act is an attempt to interfere with the independence of the Judiciary by the executive. Unlike in 2011 when the JSC presented the President with only one name, the amendment now requires JSC to give the President three nominees for the post of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice.
But Mutua said the move goes against the Constitution which bars the President from having a say in the appointment of the CJ, his deputy or any judge. “This is a retrogressive amendment to the law and denies JSC, which is a constitutional body charged with the responsibility of determining the best candidate for the CJ and his deputy,” he said.
The four lawyers will also argue that the Statutes Law (amendment) Bill, 2015 assented to by President Uhuru Kenyatta in December last year did not have public participation as stipulated by law.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Internally Displaced Persons (KEDIPO) are opposing changes in the National Police Service Act, 2011 that give the President powers to hire and fire top police chiefs.
Speaking in Nakuru yesterday, Patron Peter Tenna criticised the changes saying that the powers to appoint top officers within the National Police Service are a preserve of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) pursuant to Article 246.
The powers to recruit deputy inspectors-general are vested in the National Police Service Commission and the President only has the powers to appoint the top officers as per recommendations of the NPSC, he said.
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