Court of appeals judge David Maraga told the Judicial Service Commission that he would not enter the courtroom on Sabbath even during a presidential election dispute. "It would be very difficult for me to sit on a Saturday to hear a case," Maranga said to a commission member's question. "I would rather talk with my colleagues in the court to accommodate me and exempt me from sitting if the hearing extends to a Saturday." Being a staunch Seventh-day Adventist, Maraga would rather worship God in church on Saturday.
Judicial career
Justice Maraga joined the bench as a High Court Judge in October 2003 having been appointed by retired President Mwai Kibaki. He was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2012 following an interview process by the Judicial Service Commission. Since he was appointed to a judicial office before the 2010 Constitution of Kenyacame into force, Justice Maraga went through the mandatory vetting by the Judges & Magistrates Vetting Board in 2012. The Vetting Board unanimously declared him fit to continue serving in office, though his vetting took a dramatic twist when he demanded a Bible and swore before the vetting panel that he had never taken a bribe in his judicial career and would never take bribes in future. A year after joining the Court of Appeal, he vied for the position of President of the Court of Appeal, losing by a solitary vote to the Justice Kihara Kariuki who served as the President of the Court before leaving on his appointment as the Attorney General. Justice Maraga was appointed by retired Chief Justice Willy Mutunga in May 2012 to chair the Kenya Judiciary Working Committee on Election Preparations which was constituted in 2012 to ensure the Judiciary was fully prepared to deal in a timely manner, with any disputes that would arise from the March 2013 General Election. As a result of the Committee's work, the Judiciary was in position to deal with all election petitions within the strict statutory timelines. The Committee was thus reconstituted as the standing Judiciary Committee on Elections in 2015, still under the Chair of Justice Maraga. In 2013, the President of Kenya named Justice Maraga as the Chair of a Tribunal which was constituted to investigate the conduct of High Court Judge Joseph Mutava after complaints emerged that the Judge had been compromised to deliver a judgment which cushioned Goldenberg suspect Kamlesh Pattni from prosecution over his involvement in the Goldenberg scandal. The Tribunal's work was delayed when the Judge challenged its constitutionality in the High Court, but was finally able to complete its work in September 2016. The Tribunal submitted a report in September 2016, recommending to the President that Justice Mutava be removed from office for improperly allocating himself the Kamlesh Pattni file when it did not fall under his docket, and proceeding to write a judgment in the case even though the Judicial Service Commission was investigating his conduct. Before being appointed as the Chief Justice, David Maraga served as the Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal in Kisumu. Prior to his appointment to the High Court of Kenya in 2003, he worked as lawyer in private practice for over 25 years.
Appointment to the Office of Chief Justice of Kenya
Following the voluntary early retirement of Dr. Willy Mutunga in June 2016, Justice Maraga was among the ten people who applied to replace him. Judge Maraga emerged victorious from a list of eminent judges, legal practitioners and scholars, including law professor Makau Mutua, Supreme Court of Kenya Judges Jackton Ojwang and Smokin Wanjala, East Africa Court of Justice Judge Aaron Ringera, and his Court of Appeal colleague Alnashir Visram. Having been nominated for appointment by the Judicial Service Commission, his name was forwarded to the President who transmitted it to the National Assembly for vetting before formal appointment. The National Assembly voted unanimously to approve his appointment as the Chief Justice on 18 October 2016. He was officially appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on 19 October 2016, when he took the oath of office as the 14th Chief Justice of independent Kenya and the second Chief Justice in Kenya's new constitutional dispensation. He took over the reins as President of the Supreme Court from Dr Willy Mutunga, and is expected to retire on 12 January 2021 upon the attainment of 70 years as stipulated in the Kenyan constitution.
2017 Presidential Elections
Chief Justice David Maraga, and three other judges made history by cancelling the August 2017 presidential election because of illegalities and irregularities that were presented by the petitioners. President Kenyatta was in the lead with 54% of the vote, but opponent Raila Odinga reported the evidence of the hacking to the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice ruling acquitted Kenyatta of any misconduct. The supporters of the president were disappointed with the ruling, while many Kenyans praised the ruling against President Uhuru Kenyatta, and restoring the independence of the judiciary. President Kenyatta told media outlets that he does not agree with a ruling that disappointed millions of his supporters, but he would respect and tolerate the ruling.
