Justice Gatembu Kairu has been elected President of the Court of Appeal after securing 26 of the 41 votes cast, ending weeks of speculation over who would succeed Justice Daniel Musinga at the helm of the country’s second-highest court.
The election, conducted on Monday under the supervision of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), saw Justice Kairu defeat Justices Agnes Murgor, Patrick Kiage and Lydia Achode.
His victory gives him a five-year non-renewable term as head of the Court of Appeal, succeeding Justice Musinga whose term ended on May 24.
The 66-year-old judge will now assume responsibility for providing judicial and administrative leadership to the appellate court, overseeing its operations and representing it within the Judiciary’s leadership structure.
The result brings to an end a closely watched contest that had attracted interest within legal circles because it would produce only the fourth President of the Court of Appeal since the office was established under the 2010 Constitution.
Previous holders of the position include Justices Paul Kihara Kariuki (2013–2018), William Ouko (2018–2021) and Daniel Musinga (2021–2026). Mr Kihara, a former Attorney General, is now retired while Mr Ouko was elevated to the Supreme Court. Mr Musinga is still a sitting judge.
The election had also raised the possibility of the court electing its first female president, with Justices Agnes Murgor and Lydia Achode among the four candidates on the ballot.
Justices Kairu, Murgor and Kiage are among the court’s longest-serving members, having joined the Court of Appeal in December 2012 during the first wave of appointments under the post-2010 constitutional order.
Justice Achode joined the appellate court in 2022 after serving as Principal Judge of the High Court and accumulating nearly four decades of judicial service.
According to the order of seniority at the Court of Appeal, Justice Kiage ranks fourth, followed by Justice Kairu in fifth position and Justice Murgor in seventh, while Justice Achode ranks nineteenth.
Seniority among Court of Appeal judges is determined by the date of appointment to the appellate bench and their position on the official Roll of Judges signed during swearing-in.
Throughout the campaign period, judges, lawyers and judicial observers debated whether seniority, administrative experience, jurisprudential influence or institutional reform credentials should carry the greatest weight in choosing the court’s next leader.
Justice Kairu entered the race with extensive experience on the appellate bench and a record of involvement in Judiciary modernisation programmes.
He previously chaired Judiciary technology initiatives and played a role in efforts aimed at improving court systems and operations.
Prior to his appointment as a Judge of Appeal, Justice Kairu was in private legal practice and lectured at the University of Nairobi, School of Law since 1990.
He taught Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), banking law, civil procedure and practice, HIV/Aids and the Law, the Law of Torts and law of international institutions. Further, he is am American trained trainer in ADR.
Experienced administrator
Supporters described him as an experienced administrator with a deep understanding of the institution and its needs.
Justice Murgor brought a different profile to the contest. Before joining the bench, she worked in private practice, public service and the corporate sector.
She currently chairs the Administration of Justice and Performance Management Committee, a Judiciary body responsible for assessing court performance, monitoring reforms and tracking institutional productivity across the country.
Justice Kiage, meanwhile, is widely known for influential judgments and legal scholarship that have made him one of the court’s most prominent judicial writers.
For Justice Achode, supporters pointed to her extensive administrative experience and long service within the Judiciary.
The winner inherits a court that routinely handles some of the country’s most consequential constitutional, electoral, commercial and public-interest disputes.
Chief Justice Martha Koome had appointed Justice Wanjiru Karanja, the court’s most senior judge, to serve as acting president following the expiry of Justice Musinga’s term pending the election.
