THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE COURT OF APPEAL
The debate about the adjournment of the Court of Appeal surfaced again in offices around
Lawyers and litigants alike seem to want a solution to this ongoing problem sooner rather than later. The reason given for this adjournment is a lack of quorum, meaning that there is a lack in the number of judges as is required by law to sit over the many cases before the Court of Appeal. The procedures are clearly laid down of how judges are appointed to the Bench. It is the sole responsibility of the Constitutional Appointment Authority (CAA) to appoint judges to the different benches of the judiciary.
With the departure of Hon. Ramonibedi earlier this year Justice Bwana was appointed President of the Court of Appeal and Justice Hodoul as a judge to the same court. The Court of Appeal then adopted the unprecedented procedure of allowing a Supreme Court judge to sit on the Court of Appeal in order to achieve a ‘quorum’. However, the problem is more pronounced than it seems. Almost two years after Hon. Ramonibedi resigned from the Court of Appeal citing a myriad of problems as the cause for his departure, the CAA has failed to recommend an appropriate person to the post.
In the absence of any recommendation from the CAA, President Michel is unable to appoint anybody as required by the Constitution. In the event that the Chairman of the CAA has been slow in acting on the prevailing problem one would think that the Chief Justice would have alerted the office of the CAA or that of the President, of the situation. This would have ensured the proper administration of justice in the country. There is no indication of any communication to that effect between the office of the Chief Justice that of the CAA or the office of the President. Judging by this state of affairs a serious breakdown of communication exists between the three offices.
Meanwhile observers are keeping a close watch to see who will blink first to bring the stalemate to an end for as the saying goes “Justice delayed, is as good as justice denied.”
