Newly appointed Judges of the Court of Appeal, Employment and Labour Relations Court judges, and those of the Environment and Land Court were sworn in today, June 4, 2021, at State House, Nairobi.
The Swearing-in Ceremony was presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta and attended by Chief Justice Hon Martha Koome and President of the Court of Appeal Justice Daniel Musinga among other senior Government and Judicial Officers.
Yesterday, President Kenyatta gazetted the names of 34 judges, rejecting 6, a matter that caused an uproar among members of the Judiciary, the Law Society of Kenya, and the general public.
Notable among the omissions were Justice George Vincent Odunga and Justice Joel Mwaura Ngugi.
The two were part of the five-judge High Court bench that declared the Constitution Amendment Bill 2020 otherwise known as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) as unconstitutional.
The Head of State fiercely defended his decision, stating that his actions were guided by the constitution and were in the interest of the general public.
President Kenyatta stated that he will not turn a blind eye to other state organs.
“As long as I serve as president, I will choose the right over convenient; the hard over the easy, and I am not doing this for myself but for the people of Kenya and for posterity," President Kenyatta stated.
He reminded the judges to serve Kenyans without bias.
“That your actions and decisions be guided slowly on the unbiased and faithful application of the Constitution and our written laws, our principles and values as a nation, and the overriding interest of justice,” he said.
