NAIROBI, Kenya – Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has voiced his dissatisfaction following the revocation of several judicial vacancies by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
The Gazette Notice No. 396, issued on January 15, 2025, officially revoked the previously declared vacancies for eleven Judges of the Court of Appeal and five Judges of the High Court of Kenya.
In the notice, Chief Justice Koome, who also serves as the Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission, withdrew the announcements made in Gazette Notices No. 1076 of January 30, 2024, and No. 4932 of April 22, 2024, which detailed the recruitment process for these judicial positions.
The revocation also affected Gazette Notice No. 1271 of February 5, 2024, which declared five High Court vacancies.
Reacting to the development, MP Kaluma took to his X (formerly Twitter) page to express his frustration.
“Kenya needs more judges in the Court of Appeal to eliminate case backlog delaying and denying justice to Kenyans. Why revoke the appointment of more judges when Parliament has amended the relevant Act to permit the appointment of up to 70 Court of Appeal Judges?” he wrote.
Kenya needs more judges in the Court of Appeal to eliminate case backlog delaying and denying justice to Kenyans. Why revoke appointment of more judges when Parliament has amended the relevant Act to permit appointment of upto 70 Court of Appeal Judges? @Kenyajudiciary…
Kaluma’s remarks underscore the persistent issue of case backlogs in Kenya’s judiciary, which he suggests could be alleviated by increasing the number of judges.
The decision to revoke the appointments raises questions about the future of judicial appointments and the impact on the judiciary’s ability to manage the caseload.
