Appellate Court Suspends High Court Order Directing Uhuru to Appoint Rejected Judges

The order will remain in force until November 19 when the court is expected to give a ruling on whether it will stop the decision and orders of the High Court in respect to the six judges.

This is pending an appeal lodged by the Attorney General and the President himself.

"Given the delicate nature of issues involved, we shall grant a temporary stay as we prepare the ruling. We feel like a court we need to bring out certain issues which cannot be done right away," said the judges.1

Justices Roselyn Nambuye, Justice Laibuta, and Wanjiru Karanja gave the directive after hearing arguments from the Attorney General, President Kenyatta, and the Katiba Institute regarding the appointment of the six nominees.

Through Lawyer Waweru Gatonye, Uhuru in an application to the appellate court says the decision and orders of the High court issued last week have the potential effect of creating a conflict between the office of the Chief Justice and the Office of the President of Kenya.

“I am aggrieved with the whole decision and have since filed and served a notice of appeal. Unless the decision and orders of the High court are suspended, the intended appeal will be rendered useless,” read the court documents.

Uhuru argues that the decision of the High Court bench is a recipe for creating a constitutional crisis in the country in so far as the appointment and swearing-in of judges is concerned.

“If the six nominees are sworn in and proceed to preside over legal proceedings during the pendency of the intended appeal, the same would occasion uncertainty over the legality of such proceedings and expose the consumers of justice to harm and anguish,” he said.