Supremacy battle between arms of government over move to vet commissioner

Justice Warsame

The stage is set for another supremacy battle pitting the Judiciary against the Executive over the move to vet Court of Appeal nominee to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

JSC has said Justice Mohamed Warsame does not need Parliament's approval, and have advised him not to appear before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee for vetting.

“Neither the Constitution nor the Judicial Service Commission Act contain a provision requiring Justice Warsame to be vetted by Parliament. The decision by the President to refer his name to Parliament for vetting was unconstitutional, null and void,” said the commission.

Warsame was re-elected by the Court of Appeal judges to represent them in the JSC two weeks ago after defeating his competitor, Justice Wanjiru Karanja by 16 to four votes.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday formally nominated the judge to the commission and forwarded his name to Parliament for consideration and vetting before making the official appointment.

Under the parliamentary appointment rules, the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee has 14 days to conduct the suitability test against the judge for adoption or rejection.