Judges who will hear Raila Odinga election petition against William Ruto
Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu (left) Chief Justice Martha Koome (right). Bottom row L-R: Justices Smokin wanjala, Isaac Lenaola, William Ouko, Mohamed Ibrahim and Njoki Ndung'u. PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
- For the next 14 days, all eyes will be on the seven judges of the Supreme Court of Kenya.
- They have until September 5, to determine the presidential election petition.
All eyes are from today and the next 14 days focused on the seven judges of the Supreme Court, who have until September 5, 2022 to hear and determine what is the country’s biggest case in any election cycle, whether or not the president-elect was validly elected.
Here are the profiles of the seven men and women who will hear the case.
Chief JusticeMartha Koome,62
This will be her first presidential election petition, having assumed office on May 21, 2021.
Prior to her appointment, she was a senior judge of the Court of Appeal, heading the Criminal Division of the Court.
Top cases she has presided over was the Supreme Court’s verdict invalidating the constitutional amendment process, the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a decision declaring the Constituency Development Fund illegal and unconstitutional and one barring former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko from contesting in the Mombasa governor race.
Chief Justice Martha Koome. She will be handling her first presidential election petition, having assumed office on May 21, 2021.
CJ Koome holds a Bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Nairobi, a post-graduate diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law and a Master’s degree in law from the University of London.
She joined the Judiciary in 2003 as a High Court judge where she served until 2011, as resident judge of the High Court in Nakuru and Kitale and as the head of the Land and Environment Division of the High Court in Nairobi.
Upon her admission to the roll of advocates in 1987, she was a legal practitioner for 15 years, engaging in conveyancing, commercial law, civil litigation, criminal litigation and family law.
Some of her achievements include being a council member of the Law of Society of Kenya between 1994 and 1996, being involved in the formation of the East African Law Society and participating in the discussions towards the enactment of the East African Community Treaty.
She participated in the law review, which gave rise to the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
Deputy Chief JusticePhilomena Mwilu, 64
This will be her third presidential election petition having heard the two 2017 matters, one after the General Election, and the other after the fresh presidential election on October 26, 2017.
She was appointed on October 28, 2016. DCJ Mwilu is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over 37 years’ experience in the legal profession and holds both Bachelor and Master of Laws from the University of Nairobi.
Deputy Chief Justice, Philomena Mbete Mwilu. She has served as the Deputy Chief Justice of Kenya and Vice President of the Supreme Court of Kenya since 2016.
She was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya in 1984.
She was in private legal practice in various law firms in Nairobi for the first seven years following her admission to the Bar.
Thereafter she ventured into the corporate world before being appointed a puisne judge in 2007.
She also served in the Commercial Division of the High Court in Nairobi and later, the High Court in Eldoret.
She subsequently served at the Criminal Division, High Court, in Nairobi, before being appointed to head the Environment and Land Division.
In November 2012, she was appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal, where she served until her appointment as the Deputy Chief Justice.
Ms Mwilu his known for passionately mentoring girls and boys in secondary schools, actively participating in church events and construction of churches, as well as in charity events.
For her service to society, the Deputy Chief Justice was awarded the Moran of the Golden Heart on April 11, 2017 by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
This will be his second presidential election petition having been present for the 2013 and 2017 matter. He, however, did not hear the 2017 matters as he was out sick.
Justice Ibrahim was appointed a judge of the inaugural Supreme Court of Kenya on June 16, 2011.
Justice Mohammed K Ibrahim. He was appointed a judge of the inaugural Supreme Court of Kenya on June 16, 2011.
He is the chairperson of the Judiciary Committee on Elections, having been appointed on August 16, 2021, by the Chief Justice.
He studied law at the University of Nairobi and was the first from among the Kenyan Somali community to be admitted to the Bar as an advocate.
Mr Ibrahim has invested heavily in securing the rights for minority groups, particularly Somalis, in Kenya.
He is a past member of Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and a current member of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association.
He was appointed a judge of the High Court on May 22, 2003.
Before his elevation to the supreme court, he served at the Civil Division and Commercial Division of the High Court; on the Judicial Review and Constitutional Division of the High Court; and as resident judge in Eldoret and Mombasa.
This will be her fourth presidential election petition, having heard the 2013 matter and the two cases filed in 2017.
Justice Ndung’u holds both a Masters in Law Degree (LLM) in human rights and civil liberties and a diploma in women’s rights.
She is the architect of the Sexual Offences Act 2006 and of the amendments to the Employment Act 2007, providing for paid maternity and paternity leave, as well as to the Political Parties Act 2007 on affirmative action measures for women in political participation.
Justice Njoki Ndung’u. She is the architect of the Sexual Offences Act 2006 and of the amendments to the Employment Act 2007, providing for paid maternity and paternity leave.
She sat as a member of the Committee of Experts that drafted the Kenyan Constitution and has received international and national recognition for her work.
She received presidential commendation, being awarded the Elder of the Burning Spear in 2006, and later, the Chief of the Burning Spear.
This will be his fourth presidential election petition, having heard the 2013 and 2017 matters. Justice Wanjala was appointed to the Supreme Court of Kenya in 2011.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nairobi, a post graduate diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law, a Master of Laws from Columbia University, New York, and a doctorate in Law from the University of Ghent, Belgium.
Dr Smokin Wanjala. He is credited with overseeing the compilation and writing of the Ndung’u Report on the illegal and irregular allocation of public land.
He served as a law lecturer and later, senior lecturer at the University of Nairobi from 1986 to 2004.
He is credited with overseeing the compilation and writing of the Ndung’u Report on the illegal and irregular allocation of public land.
He was also the first chairman of the Public Complaints Committee on the Environment, which is one of the Compliance Committees of the National Environment and Management Authority-NEMA (2002-2004).
He is also one of the four founder members of the Centre for Law and Research International (Clarion), where they pioneered civic education in the country.
In 2012, he received the presidential award of the Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS) [First Class], the fourth highest civilian award in Kenya for his distinguished service rendered to the nation.
This will be his third presidential election petition, having heard the 2017 matters. Justice Lenaola studied at the University of Nairobi and the Kenya School of Law.
Before appointment as judge of the Supreme Court, he was the presiding judge of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division at the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi, where he made decisions on human rights, devolution and separation of powers.
Justice Isaac Lenaola. In 2008, he was awarded the Law Society of Kenya award for distinguished service in the administration of justice.
He is president of the Advisory Council of the Strathmore Institute for Advanced Studies in International Criminal Justice and president of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges.
He is also chairman of the Judicial Action Group and a member of the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association, the Accountability Panel of the Wildlife Justice Commission and also the African Judges and Jurists Forum.
In 2008, he was awarded the Law Society of Kenya award for distinguished service in the administration of justice and East African Law Society honorary membership award.
He is also a recipient of the Moran of the Burning Spear for administration of justice in Kenya and East Africa. In July 2022, he awarded the Chief of the Burning Spear.
This will be his first presidential election petition, having joined the Supreme Court in May 2021.
Justice Ouko holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Nairobi, a diploma in legal practice from the Kenya School of Law and a Master of Arts degree in criminology & criminal justice.
Justice William Ouko. This will be his first presidential election petition, having joined the Supreme Court in May 2021.
He joined the judicial service in 1987 as District Magistrate II (Professional). In 2004, he was appointed judge of the High Court in and as a Court of Appeal judge in 2012.
On March 9, 2018, he was elected as president of the Court of Appeal where he served until June 11, 2021.
On May 14, 2021, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya.
He has served as member of the Delinking Committee of the Judiciary and the East African Judicial Education Committee.
He is also a trainer and mentor for the Kenya Judiciary Academy and facilitates the Annual Kenya and Regional and Africa Studies Programme for senior military and government officers.
In recognition of his service to the Nation, President Uhuru Kenyatta conferred him the award of the National Honour of the Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) in 2019 and the National Honour of the Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS) in December 2020.
