KATIBA INSTITUTE V. ATTORNEY GENERAL, PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF REPUBLIC OF KENYA, JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION, PATRICK GICHOHI, OLIVE MUGENDA , FELIX KOSKEI , GEORGE LUKOYE , KENYA NATIONAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS & AFRICAN CENTRE FOR OPEN GOVERNANCE

RULING OF THE COURT

1. By a Constitutional Petition dated 8^th March 2018, the applicant, Katiba Institute, filed suit contending that the nomination of the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th respondents as members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is bereft of fair competition or merit and is contrary to Article 232(1) (g) of the Constitution. The applicant averred that the identification and nomination of the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th respondents was not preceded by public participation and was therefore null and void. It was further contended that the President of the Republic forwarded the name of the 5^th respondent to be vetted by Parliament yet the nomination was ultravires Article 171 (2) (g) of the Constitution. In the Petition, the applicant claimed the National Assembly in vetting the 6^th respondent failed to interrogate the mandatory considerations in Section 7 of the Public Appointment (Parliamentary Approval) Act 2011 and failed to appreciate that the nomination and vetting of the 6^th responde…