The Hon. Justice Jackton Boma Ojwang | |
---|---|
Associate Justice | |
In office 26 August 2011 –5 February 2020 | |
Appointed by | Mwai Kibaki |
Personal details | |
Born | 1950 (age 72–73) Migori,Kenya |
Alma mater | University of Nairobi |
Occupation | Judge of Supreme Court of Kenya |
Profession | Judge |
Jackton Boma Ojwang is a Kenyan lawyer and a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya. Upon retiring from the Supreme Court,President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him as chairperson of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
Justice Ojwang was born in 1950 in Migori County. He went to Homa Bay High School,sitting for his O-Levels in 1968. He then went to the Thika High School where he sat for his A-Level in 1970. He earned his undergraduate degree in law at the University of Nairobi in 1974 and a master's degree at the same university in 1976.
He earned a PhD degree in comparative constitutional law at Downing College in 1981.
Justice Ojwang worked as a lecturer and served as the Dean of the School of Law at the University of Nairobi from 2000 to 2003. He was also a visiting associate professor of law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School in Brigham Young University. [1]
In September 2015,Ojwang received a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi,having successfully defended his thesis,titled The Unity of the Constitution and the Common Law. He became the first sitting Kenyan judge to receive a Doctor of Laws degree. [2] [3]
Ojwang was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya in September 1983. He joined the Judiciary of Kenya in 2003,serving as a high court judge in Nairobi and Mombasa until 2011.
In June 2012,Ojwang was among 5 Justices nominated to the Supreme Court of Kenya by the Judicial Service Commission,which had interviewed 25 applicants. [4]
He was one of the six judges who dismissed the presidential election petition of March 30,2013.
When Dr. Willy Mutunga retired from the Office of Chief Justice in June 2016,Justice (Prof) J. B. Ojwang was one of ten people who applied to replace him. He was initially left out of the shortlist and interview schedule prepared by the Judicial Service Commission,but was later invited to interview for the job following a constitutional court case in which the Judicial Service Commission was compelled to interview all applicants who had met the minimum statutory requirements for the job. He was interviewed but was overlooked for the job,with Court of Appeal Judge David Maraga receiving the nomination by the commission. [5]
At the conclusion of the 2017 presidential election petition,Justice Ojwang's rendered a dissenting opinion alongside Lady Justice Njoki Ndung'u,saying there was not enough evidence to meet the threshold to annul the Kenyan presidential election held on August 8,2017.
The Judicial Service Commission received a petition alleging that Justice J. B. Ojwang' had engaged in gross misconduct by failing to disclose his close relations with Migori County Governor Okoth Obado when he handled a case in which the governor was involved. It was also alleged that the Governor had caused a road leading to the Judge's home to be tarmacked as a reward.
He declined summons to appear before the commission to explain his position,forcing a jilted Commission to recommend that the President forms a Tribunal to investigate his conduct. [6]
On the strength of this recommendation,President Kenyatta appointed a Tribunal chaired by Court of Appeal Judge Alnasir Visram to investigate the conduct of the Judge. [7] Other members of the tribunal were Justice Rtd Festus Azangalala,Ambrose Weda,Andrew Bahati Mwamuye,Sylvia Wanjiku Muchiri,Lucy Kanbuni,and Amina Abdalla. Lawyer Paul Nyamodi served as the lead assisting counsel with Stella Munyi as assisting counsel. Mr Peter Kariuki and Josiah Musili served as the Joint Secretaries to the tribunal.
He became the third Judge in the Supreme Court to face an inquiry Tribunal,after Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza and Justice of the Supreme Court Philip Tunoi.
The Tribunal held its proceedings in private,and did not involve the media. After receiving and considering all evidence presented,which included a visit to the Judge's home to investigate whether he benefited from a private road constructed using public funds in exchange for a favorable decision,the Tribunal returned a verdict in August 2019 clearing him of all the allegations of misconduct. [8]
In its findings,the Tribunal faulted the JSC for refusing the Judge the chance to appear before the sub-committee through his lawyer rather than in person,for relying on draft rules of procedure to determine the process to be followed during the proceedings,for failing to consider evidence from a surveyor the commission had retained to check whether the road in question was private or public,and for insisting that the Judge should appear before JSC Commissioners who had adopted a hostile line of questioning during his interviews for the office of Chief Justice. The Tribunal also noted that whereas the Judge was accused of rendering a decision that was favorable to the Migori County Governor,the judgment in question was taken unanimously by all the Judges of the Supreme Court. [9]
Justice Ojwang' retired from the Supreme Court in February 2020 when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. In May of the same year,President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him to chair the Board of Directors of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA). His appointment was viewed as a reward for his pro-government decisions while on the Supreme Court,particularly his dissenting vote to affirm President Kenyatta's win in the 2017 Presidential election which was nullified by the majority.
This move attracted outrage from several Kenyans given his advanced age,the lack of transparency in the appointment process and the need to create opportunities for younger people. Kenyans were particularly angered by this appointment given that just the previous month,President Kenyatta had handed a similar appointment to Justice Erastus Githinji who had retired from the Court of Appeal on reaching 70 years. Justice Githinji was appointed by the President to chair the Tax Appeals Tribunal though the High Court issued temporary orders stopping him from taking office after the Law Society of Kenya filed a constitutional reference .
The Government of the Republic of Kenya (GoK) is the national government of the republic of Kenya which is composed of 47 Counties,each county with its own semi-autonomous governments. The national government is composed of three arms:The Legislature,the Executive and the Judiciary. Each arm is independent of the other and their individual roles are set by the Constitution of Kenya. The full name of the country is the "Republic of Kenya". Its official Swahili name is 'Jamhuri ya Kenya'. Other terms such as GoK,GK and Serikali are popularly used to refer to the Kenyan government.
Willy Munyoki Mutunga is a Kenyan lawyer,intellectual,reform activist,and was the Commonwealth Special Envoy to the Maldives. He is also an active member of the Justice Leadership Group. He is the retired Chief Justice of Kenya and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya.
The High Court of Kenya is a court of unlimited original jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters established under article 165 of the constitution of Kenya. It also has supervisory jurisdiction over all other subordinate courts and any other persons,body or authority exercising a judicial or quasi-judicial function. It was known as the Supreme Court of Kenya until 1964 and its name has remain unchanged since then.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of Kenya is an independent Commission established under Article 171 of the Constitution of Kenya. Its mandate as stipulated in Article 172 of the Constitution is to promote and facilitate the independence and accountability of the Judiciary and the efficient,effective and transparent administration of justice. The commission has 11 members with the initial team appointed in December 2010.
Dr. Nancy Makokha Baraza is a former Kenyan judge. She was the first Deputy Chief Justice of Kenya and a member of Kenya's first supreme court after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution. She served in the court from June 2011 to her suspension in January 2012 and subsequently resigned on 18 October 2012. She was appointed to the Kenya Law Reform Commission in 2008 for a term of three years,serving as a vice chairperson until her appointment as deputy CJ. In early 2010,she was elected chairperson of the Media Council of Kenya’s Ethics and Complaints Commission.
The Supreme Court of Kenya is the highest court in Kenya. It is established under Article 163 of the Kenyan Constitution. As the highest court in the nation,its decisions are binding and set precedent on all other courts in the country.
The Court of Appeal of Kenya is established under Article 164 of the constitution of Kenya and consists of a number of judges,being not fewer than twelve.
The Chief Justice of Kenya is the head of the Judiciary of Kenya and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya and is an office established under Article 161 of the Kenyan Constitution. The Chief Justice is assisted by the Deputy Chief Justice who is also the Deputy President of the Supreme Court.
Philip Kiptoo Tunoi is a Kenyan lawyer and a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya. He also served as a Judge of the East African Court of Justice.
Mohamed Khadhar Ibrahim is a Kenyan lawyer and a justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya.
Smokin Wanjala is a Kenyan lawyer and a justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya. He holds a Ph.D. in law from University of Ghent,Belgium. He also holds a Master of Laws degree from the Columbia University in the United States and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Nairobi. Wanjala lectured at the University of Nairobi for 15 years,where he taught international law,international human rights law,land law and criminal law.
Njoki Susanna Ndung'u is a Kenyan lawyer and a justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from University of Nairobi and a Master of Laws (LLM) in human rights and civil liberties from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. She was born in 1966.
The Judiciary of Kenya is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in Kenya. After the promulgation of the constitution of Kenya in 2010,the general public,through parliament,sought to reform the judiciary. Parliament passed the Magistrates and Judges Vetting Act of 2011. A major part of reforming the judiciary was the vetting of Magistrates and Judges in an attempt to weed out unsuitable ones. The Judicature Act has also been amended to raise the minimum number of Magistrates and Judges allowing more judicial officers to be hired. More magistrates and judges are needed to clear the backlog of cases that have caused great delay in the conclusion of cases and to staff new courts. New courts are needed to bring the courts closer to the people which is in line with devolution,a major principle written into the Constitution of 2010. New courts like the High Court opened in Garissa in November 2014 is a good example. In the past residents of North Eastern Kenya had to go all the way to Embu to access a High Court.
Kalpana Hasmukhrai Rawal is a Kenyan-Asian lawyer and the former Deputy Chief Justice and Vice President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. She was sworn in on June 3,2013 as the Deputy Chief Justice of Kenya in a ceremony presided over by the President of Kenya and the Chief Justice. After a protracted case on the question of the retirement age of Judges who were appointed under the old Constitution of Kenya,the Supreme Court delivered a Ruling which effectively set the retirement age at 70 years,sending the Deputy Chief Justice and one other Supreme Court Judge who had reached 70 on retirement.
The Kenya Presidential Election Petition of 2013 was an election petition aiming to declare the Kenya presidential election 2013 invalid. The Petition was filed at the Supreme Court of Kenya on 16 March 2013.
David Kenani Maraga is a Kenyan lawyer and jurist. He was the 14th Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya from October 2016 until his retirement in January 2021.
Philomena Mbete Mwilu is a Kenyan lawyer and judge,who has served as the assistant Chief Justice of Kenya and Vice President of the Supreme Court of Kenya since 28 October 2016. Following the retirement of Chief Justice David Maraga,and before Martha Koome was appointed as the Chief Justice,she served as Acting Chief Justice and President of the Supreme court of Kenya from 11 January 2021 to 19 May 2021,making her the first woman to hold that office.
Paul Kihara Kariuki is a Kenyan lawyer and a former court of appeal president and judge. He was nominated for the post of Office of Attorney General of Kenya by President Uhuru Kenyatta on 13 February 2018 following the resignation of Githu Muigai.
Justice William Ouko is a Kenyan lawyer and Judge with a wealth of experience in judicial and administrative service spanning over 34 years. He is currently serving as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya. He was nominated by the Judicial Service Commission for the seat of a Judge of the Supreme Court on 5 May 2021. On 14 May 2021,he was appointed to the position by the President of the Republic of Kenya H.E Uhuru Kenyatta,CGH and was subsequently sworn in on 21 May 2021. He served as the President of the Court of Appeal of Kenya prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court,a position to which he was elected on 9 March 2018.
Martha Karambu Koome is a Kenyan advocate who is currently serving as the Chief Justice of Kenya,and is the first woman to occupy the post.