President Uhuru Kenyatta could find himself in trouble before he exits office after Chief Justice Martha Koome called on the Appeal Court to declare that he has violated the Constitution by failing to appoint six of the 40 judges nominated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) three years ago.
The CJ has accused the Head of State of allegedly violating Articles 3(1) and 166(1)(b) of the Constitution and should therefore be impeached.
This was after President Uhuru Kenyatta turned down the nomination of six judges to the Court of Appeal and the Environment and Lands Court presented to him by the JSC in 2021.
While turning down a section of JSC's list, Uhuru only appointed 34 of the 40 candidates nominated. Uhuru rejected the nominations of High Court Justices Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Aggrey Muchelule, and Weldon Korir to the Appellate court “for failing to meet the required threshold”.
In documents filed before the appellate court, CJ Koome now wants the courts to declare that the head of state had violated the constitution by ignoring his accountability and should therefore be impeached.
"The courts are asked to make a declaration that the head of state has violated Articles 3(1) and 166(1)(b) of the Constitution and should therefore be impeached," read part of Koome's court papers.
However, Koome's proposals could face a myriad of challenges, with consideration that President Uhuru is only remaining with less than two months before he exits office in August.
Already, Parliament has adjourned indefinitely for the August 9 General Elections. The constitution requires that for the president to be impeached, at least a third of the legislators (232) should support the impeachment.
Koome's suggestion has also been questioned by one of the lawyers allied with Deputy President William Ruto's camp Ahmednassir Abdullahi. According to Abdullahi, Koome's timing is questionable.
The former President Uhuru's lawyer also went ahead to accuse Koome of allegedly being one of the appellants appealing against the High Court's decision to have Uhuru impeached. He said Koome is the same person who obtained a stay of the High Court's decision.
"CJ Koome should not take Kenyans for fools, Isn't she the Appellant appealing High Court decision. Didn't she obtain a stay of the High Court decision? Didn't she take all the judges except 4 for clandestine swearing? PR gimmick to change her case," claimed Lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi.
