The Judiciary/FILE
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is set to begin interviews for the appointment of Judges of the Court of Appeal on January 12, 2026.
The recruitment process is aimed at filling 15 vacancies in the country’s second-highest court.
According to a statement from the Commission, a total of 35 candidates have been shortlisted and will be interviewed starting next week.
The interviews will be conducted in public and streamed live on YouTube and Facebook, in line with the JSC’s commitment to transparency and public participation in judicial appointments.
Among those shortlisted are several prominent legal figures, including Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Chairperson Ahmed Isaack Hassan, High Court Judge Chacha Mwita, and veteran lawyer Katwa Kigen.
Other notable candidates include Environment and Land Court Presiding Judge Oscar Angote and High Court Justices Joseph Sergon, Yuvinalis Angima, Hedwig Ong’udi, Onesmus Makau, Nduma Nderi, Samson Okongo and Edward Muriithi.
The interviews will open on January 12, 2026, beginning with Professor Migai Akech, according to the official interview schedule released by the JSC.
The shortlisted candidates comprise 19 serving High Court judges and 15 advocates drawn from private practice and academia.
The list was drawn from 95 applicants who expressed interest in the Court of Appeal positions by the July 7, 2025, deadline, following the advertisement of the vacancies in June 2025.
The Court of Appeal recruitment is part of a wider judicial hiring exercise that also includes positions for 20 High Court judges, 10 Judges of the Environment and Land Court (ELC), 100 Resident Magistrates and five Kadhis.
In total, Chief Justice Martha Koome, who chairs the JSC, said the Commission received 2,679 applications across all advertised positions by the close of the application period.
The Court of Appeal vacancies attracted 94 applications, while the Environment and Land Court posts drew 242 applicants.
Resident Magistrate positions recorded the highest interest, with 1,714 applications, followed by 376 for High Court judges and 253 for Kadhis.
The recruitment drive follows the lifting of a suspension on judicial appointments that had been imposed in January 2025 due to budget cuts by the National Treasury, which significantly constrained the Judiciary’s operational funding and staffing plans.
According to the JSC, the ongoing recruitment is intended to address staffing gaps and improve the efficiency of the courts, particularly at the appellate level, where case backlogs remain a concern.
The exercise is anchored in the Commission’s constitutional mandate under Article 172 of the Constitution, which tasks the JSC with promoting the independence and accountability of the Judiciary and ensuring the effective, efficient and transparent administration of justice.
Successful candidates from the interviews will be recommended to the President for formal appointment.
The JSC has emphasised that the process seeks to ensure that only highly qualified, ethically sound and competent individuals are elevated to the superior courts, in line with constitutional and legal requirements.