WHY WILLIAM RUTO MIGHT REGRET LATER.

On Tuesday, September 13, President William Samoei Ruto appointed the six judges who had been proposed for appointment by the previous president, Uhuru Kenyatta.

The head of state signed two gazette notices appointing two judges for the Environment and Land Court and four judges for the Court of Appeal.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 166(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, I, William Samoei Ruto, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, appoint -Korir Weldon Kipyegon, Muchelule Aggrey Otsyula, Odunga George Vincent, and Joel Mwaura Ngugi.”

The President’s choice, however, has been criticized by seasoned political analyst Herman Manyora, who regrets that it might come back to haunt him while he is in office.

Manyora expressed his opinion that Ruto’s choice to appoint the six judges who had been turned down by former President Uhuru Kenyatta on his YouTube channel where he was analyzing political events in the nation. Manyora believes this was a grave mistake.

“Ruto’s move partaining the six judges was juvenile move; you should first get into that office and find out why your predecessor never appointed them; go to the files to find out why Uhuru Kenyatta rejected them; look carefully; and let Kenyans and the rest of the world know that you went through their files before you appointed the judges.” He said.

Manyora contends that the new President should have taken the time to carefully consider the reasons Uhuru Kenyatta had rejected the judges and avoid coming across as vindictive in his choice.

He regrets that the President made this error and feels that Ruto closed a window that he might still need after choosing to appoint the judges.

“If President William Ruto is going to be president for the next five or ten years, that move will come back to haunt him; that window he is closing of not knowing the real reasons why the judges were not appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta will be needed one day,” Manyora said.

The lecturer from the University of Nairobi continued by arguing that the constitution’s language that a president should “choose” the judges to nominate from the list provided to him by the JSC should not be interpreted to mean that he must appoint everyone on the list.

He noted that this language should be interpreted carefully because it may cause problems in the future.

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