CJ David Maraga Swears in New Court of Appeal President

Chief Justice David Maraga swore in Justice William Ouko as the new Court of Appeal President.

Ouko was sworn in on Tuesday and directed to assume office immediately following his oath.

Justice Ouko moved in to replace Justice Kihara Kariuki who was nominated as the Attorney General by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Notably, Justice Mohammed Warsame will continue representing judges in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) after the election.

[caption caption="The newly sworn in Court of Appeal President, Justice William Ouko"][/caption]

Before the elections, Justice Philip Waki was the acting President of the Court of appeal.

Justice Ouko was sworn in at a time when the Court of Appeal is grappling with a shortage of judges, which is affecting service delivery countrywide.

He had earlier stated that after the appointment of the Chief Justice and his deputy Philomena Mwilu to the Supreme Court, their positions at the Court of Appeal had not yet been filled.

“After the exit of the three, we are yet to get replacements and that has strained our operations and proper service delivery. We also have a big shortage of clerks in our courts, forcing two or more judges to be served by a single clerk," the Court of Appeal President stated.

“For efficiency, at least each judge must have his or her own clerk but at the moment the workload is heavier because of the little workforce. We know some staff retired but they have not been replaced,” he added.

[caption caption="ourt of Appeal Judges(L-R)Jamila Mohamed,William Ouko,GBM Kariuku,Patrick Kiange and James Odek"][/caption]

He asked the judges to align their strategies with CJ Maraga’s overall vision of the Judiciary.