President William Samoei Ruto on Tuesday, September 13 appointed the six judges that were nominated for appointment during the former president Uhuru Kenyatta's regime..
The Head of State signed two gazette notices promoting four Court of Appeal judges and two Environment and Land Court judges.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 166(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, I, William Samoei Ruto, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, appoint –Korir Weldon Kipyegon, Muchelule Aggrey Otsyula, Odunga George Vincent, Joel Mwaura Ngugi,” read part of the gazette notice signed by President Ruto.
The Head of State further appointed two Environment and Land Court judges, Makori Evans Kiago and Cheruiyot Omange Judith Elizabeth.
In his Inauguration speech after he was sworn in, President Ruto confirmed that he would appoint the six judges before the end of the day so that they can get on with the business of serving people.
“To further demonstrate my commitment to the independence of the Judiciary, this afternoon I will appoint the 6 judges already nominated for appointment to the court of appeal, three years ago, by the Judicial Service Commission and tomorrow, I shall preside over their swearing-in ceremony so that they can get on with the business of serving the people,” Ruto stated
Law Society of Kenya President Eric Theuri welcomed the move, saying Ruto had kicked off on the right footing and gave hope to the Judiciary.
"President William Ruto starts off on a positive note. The appointment of the Judges to the Court of Appeal and High Court and pledged support for the Judiciary are highly welcomed signs," stated Theuri.
Kenyatta had rejected the nominations of High Court Justices Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Aggrey Muchelule and Weldon Korir to the Appellate court and other Judges of the High Court “for failing to meet the required threshold”.
However, Ruto has stated that his administration will scale up the budgetary allocation to the judiciary by an additional Ksh 3 billion annually for the next 5 years.
The resources, according to the Head of State, will support the bottom-up scaling of justice by increasing the number of small claims courts from the current 25 to 100.
He further said that he will work with the Judiciary to build High Courts in the remaining 7 counties, magistrates courts in the remaining 123 sub-counties and support their ongoing digitization program.
The new Head of State has also called on Kenyans to celebrate the Judiciary for sustaining its tradition of boldly giving much-needed guidance, especially in allaying post-election anxieties and resolving grievances in a sensitive, credible and authoritative manner.
Additionally, Ruto said his administration will empower the Judiciary to adjudicate and expeditiously conclude corruption cases, commercial disputes and all other matters so that it can provide access to justice and efficiency in the Judiciary.
