The High Court has struck out a request to stop the election of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) female representative to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), easing tension around the polls that started this morning.
Justice Antony Mrima said the court did not have the authority to address the issues raised by lawyer Clifford Keya against three candidates that he argued work for government agencies and were in his view unqualified to contest.
The judge said the lawyer should have referred his grievances to the LSK elections board as provided for in the LSK regulations before seeking redress in court.
Justice Mrima ruled that the court could not do the work of the board. He had allowed preliminary objections raised by the board and the candidates whose clearance was being contested.
“I find that the LSK elections board (2022) is well clothed to handle all disputes from the time of nomination until the declaration of the results. Therefore, this court lacks jurisdiction to hear both the application and the petition. The case by the petitioner is hereby struck out,” he ruled.
Mr Keya had claimed that the LSK elections board erred in allowing the nomination of lawyers Jacqueline Ingutiah, Anna Konuche and Christine Kipsang.
The three are not in private practice. Ms Ingutiah works at the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC), Ms Konuche is an assistant director at the Kenya School of Law and Ms Kipsang works for the National Environment Tribunal.
“The three work for agencies that fall under the Executive and the Judiciary. Their employers are effectively represented at the JSC by several commissioners. The slot for LSK representative is intended to represent the interest of Advocates at JSC,” Mr Keya said.
He argued that Ms Ingutiah and Ms Konuche are conflicted as they work for statutory bodies that are already represented at JSC by the Attorney-General.
Ms Kipsang, he said, is also conflicted because she works for an agency that is under the Judiciary, which is equally represented at JSC by several representatives from the Supreme Court, High Court and Magistracy.
The other contestants for the lucrative position are lawyers Julie Soweto, Jane Nyaboke and Mercy Atieno. They are in private practice. The position arose after the exit of Ms Mercy Deche, whose five-year term expired last year. BY DAILY NATION