A former Director of Prosecutions would have lost his chance of becoming the next Chief Justice were it not for a last-minute dash.
Philip Murgor who has been practising law for more than 34 years submitted his CJ application to the Judicial Service Commission just 15 minutes before the 5 pm deadline on February 9.
Murgor, now 60 years old, considers himself at the prime of his life and best positioned to serve the county as the next Chief Justice.
“I hope to be in my prime between now and 70. I could do this in either private practice or the public service,” he stated during a recent interview.
Murgor was born in Iten to the family of a provincial administrator and his entry into the public service was inevitable.
Armed with his law degree, his first job was to be a public prosecutor.
“That’s where I made a mark in my career (Director of Public Prosecutions). I took over at a time when public prosecution in Kenya was considered dead,” he spoke.
The former DPP holds the opinion that retired CJ David Maraga did his best and described him as a sincere person, rating his score at 65 out of 100.
He however faulted Maraga for not resolving the frosty relationship between the Judiciary and the Executive.
“It’s important to avoid disputes that lead to institutional deadlock. I’d have handled the budgetary issue differently, by being more diplomatic but also firm.
"There’s a time to shout from the rooftops and a time to be diplomatic. I’m diplomatic when I need to be and firm when the situation so demands," he explained how he would have tackled the problem.
Murgor's vision for the Judiciary is that the next CJ should be someone who can bridge the gap between the Judiciary and the other two arms of government to facilitate service delivery to the people.
“No investor will place his money in a country where the dispute resolution mechanisms or the Judiciary do not function or are underfunded,” he stated, adding that the candidate should project independence, be level-headed, and experienced.
