The Judicial Service commission (JSC) unanimously nominated Justice David Maraga as the new Chief Justice of Kenya following a transparent process which saw all qualified applicants interviewed for the position. And a closer look at Judge David Maraga reveals a lot about him.
Justice Maraga hails from Bonyamatuta in Nyamira County. The 64-year-old Seventh Day Adventist is a graduate of both Bachelors and Masters in Law from Nairobi University and currently chairs the judiciary committee on elections which is mandated with the responsibility of overseeing election petition hearings that may come up in the next general elections.
After completing his Degree, in 1977, and a post graduate Diploma at the Kenya School of Law, Maraga started a law firm in Nakuru where he served the public until he was appointed to the high court and posted in Mombasa.
He was later taken to Nakuru for a period of two years, then Nairobi, where he was posted to the Constitutional Review Division where he rose to become head of the Family Division.
David is also the chairman of the Judiciary Elections Petitions Committee, which has been widely lauded for offering quality leadership.
In the interviews, Maraga also stated that he was a member of the Constitutional Review Task Force of the Seventh Day Adventist Church East Africa Union.
The Kisumu based Judge was appointed to the High court in October 2003 and later appointed to the court of appeal in 2011 where he was serving up to date as the presiding Judge.
Back in 2012, Maraga came out clean in a vetting process over accusations of tribalism and Bribery and he was endorsed to continue serving in the court of appeal. What made him stand out, though, was when he swore publicly on TV using a Bible that he had never and would never take a bribe an action that came as a surprise to everyone.
The board that vetted him applauded him for his public service record and effort to decongest prisons while in Nakuru.
Professor Tom Ojienda, one of the Commissioners, while speaking to the media, listed out a number of reasons why they unanimously settled on Justice Maraga namely, outstanding jurisprudence, high levels of integrity and he stood out among his peers, best transformation agenda to get judicial staff to deliver, ambassadorial traits saying that Maraga scored the highest points.
The mantle is now in the National assembly’s and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s hands to approve Maraga, an action that will see him take over from Justice Willy Mutunga who retired a few months back. If approved, Maraga is expected to assume office immediately.
