The intrigues surrounding Chief Justice interviews in the recent past have not been short of drama. Often seen as one of the powerful but hot seats in the country, candidates are put to task by the Judicial Service Commission over various issues in a bid to weed out the weak and retain the most suitable candidate for the role.
This has led to a few dramatic moments during the interviews. From crying during the interview to fierce exchange of words among judges, Kenyans.co.ke takes a look at such memorable moments.
Chitembwe
The search for Kenya's 16th Chief Justice on Monday, April 12 began with an unexpected turn of events after High Court judge Said Juma Chitembwe became emotional and cried as he was put to task by the JSC panel over various contentious issues.
Commissioner Evelyn Olwande questioned Chitembwe over bail rights for accused persons. On the matter, Chitembwe broke down as he used his own experience in which he was charged and later acquitted. At the time he was the company secretary at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
"When you go through the process you know better. My personal experience was me and the CEO of NSSF were prosecuted, then two lawyers joined the case with the intention to delay it, they filed the case to stop the hearing of the case," an emotional Chitembwe said.
Jackton Ojwang
Former Supreme Court judge Jackton Ojwang engaged in a fierce exchange with the JSC panel during the 2016 interviews.
At one point, Ojwang asked for protection from JSC chairperson Margaret Kobia after he was hard-pressed by commissioner Mohammed Warsame about his wife's involvement in politics as a result of his influential position.
"Madam chair I need protection from this particular commissioner because he is getting involved in acts of provocation and also asking questions that are not meritorious," Ojwang stated.
Warsame, who seemed hell-bent on seeking answers continued probing Ojwang on various contentious issues which led to a supremacy battle between the two judges.
Ojwang was among 14 other candidates who had sought to replace former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga who retired in June 2016.
Samuel Bosire
Former Court of Appeal judge Samuel Bosire engaged in a heated debate with former JSC commissioner and senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi as the candidate protested against the lawyer's line of questioning.
Bosire accused the outspoken lawyer of waging a personal dislike against him after Ahmednasir questioned his credentials and details regarding the Goldenberg scandal.
Bosire claimed Ahmednasir was attempting to bring to the interview issues that he had written in opinion articles.
But the Senior Counsel said that Bosire was opposed to his manner of asking questions because he had never attended any other interview.
"I have no apologies to make on the matter," lawyer Ahmednasir emphatically stated.
David Maraga
Former Chief Justice David Maraga was also put to task by the JSC panel during the 2012 vetting process for allegedly soliciting bribes in order to give a favorable ruling.
Maraga however refuted the claims adding that he had not participated in any unlawful act or solicit bribes during his tenure as a Court of Appeal judge.
As his statement did not seem satisfactory in front of the panel, he asked for a bible and swore in front of the panel that he had never committed such offenses.
"In the name of God the creator of the entire universe, I have never taken a bribe and I will never take a bribe," Maraga swore in front of the panel.
Paul Kongani
Paul Udoto Kongani, a law student at the Kenya School of Law and also a carpenter, took the JSC panel by surprise after he appealed to surrender his candidature before the 2016 interview session began.
He noted that based on Article 166 of the Kenyan constitution, he did not meet the required threshold of 15 years experience.
"As a job seeker, you understand what it entails when one is seeking a job. I live to abide by the constitution of Kenya and I would not like to engage the commission in an exercise in futility and hence seek to surrender my candidature before the process begins," Kogani stated.
The JSC chair affirmed that the law student had indeed received a letter allowing him to appear before the panel and the process was allowed to proceed.
