Court blocks Mokua's nomination to East African Court of Justice
The court pointed out that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) must be involved in assessing candidates for the regional court.
The High Court has ruled that the nomination of Zablon Muruka Mokua as a judge at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) was unconstitutional.
Delivering the judgment on Friday, Justice Chacha Mwita stated that Mokua's appointment failed to meet the requirements set out in Article 24 of the Treaty Establishing the East African Community.
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The court pointed out that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) must be involved in assessing candidates for the regional court.
The case was filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which challenged Mokua's nomination on the grounds that he did not meet the qualifications for the position.
The LSK argued that the nomination process was flawed, as the JSC mandated to oversee the selection of judges—was not involved.
Mokua, a former Basi Member of the County Assembly (MCA), was nominated on April 18, 2024, by then East African Community (EAC) Cabinet Secretary (CS) Peninah Malonza.
He had been selected to replace Justice Charles Nyachae, who resigned earlier in the year.
According to the LSK, the CS has no legal authority to nominate a judge, as such appointments fall under the jurisdiction of the JSC.
"The third respondent (Mokua) does not meet the requisite qualifications to be nominated as a judge of a superior court in Kenya and subsequently as a judge of the East African Court of Justice's First Instance Division," LSK stated in its petition.
The lawyers' body further argued that Mokua's selection was done in secrecy, violating key principles of governance such as public participation, transparency, and accountability.
"By surreptitiously hand-picking the 3rd Respondent (Mokua) as Kenya's nominee for the position of judge of the First Instance Court of the East African Court of Justice, the 1st and 2nd respondents (Attorney General and CS Malonza, respectively) denied other qualified Kenyans an opportunity to offer themselves for appointment in a competitive manner," LSK argued.
With the court's ruling, the nomination stands invalid.
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