Muigai Attorney General Professor Githu Muigai making submissions in court.(FILE PHOTO).
BY SAM ALFAN.
Attorney General Professor Githu Muigai has taken on courts for denying the President power to appoint his preferred candidate as the next Chief Justice.
According to the AG, the high court erred in nullifying the JSC Act and has petitioned Court of Appeal judges to reinstate the law and give the president powers to pick a candidate of his choice.
The move reintroduces debate on whether or not the president should have a hand in choosing the next CJ.
He is accusing the High court of arriving at a wrong conclusion that ultimately nullified the amendments made to the JSC Act.
Through his lawyer Cecil Miller, Prof Muigai says that he will file an appeal to challenge the decision by a five judge bench that invalidated the law passed by the National Assembly.
The law compelled the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to submit three names to the President for him to choose his preferred candidate for appointment as CJ and their deputy.
The notice of appeal that was filed last week and scheduled for hearing today was consequently postponed to another date to allow the AG file the main appeal.
In May this year the High Court declared an amendment giving the President power to decide the next CJ null and void.
In a petition filed by Law Society of Kenya, the lawyers body repulsed a move by parliament to give the president powers to appoint the chief justice and his deputy saying it goes against the constitution and amounts to interference with the independence of the judiciary.
