In June 2014 ,President Uhuru Kenyatta approved the appointment of 11 lawyers nominated to become High Court judges by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The 11 would become part of the 25 names forwarded by JSC in January 2014 to the President for his approval and have been pending since then.
The 11 who have been appointed included Justus Momanyi Bwonwong’a, Joseph Louis Omondi Onguto, Roselyne Ekirapa Aburill, Enock Chacha Mwita and Robert Kipkoech Limo.
Others in the list are Charles Kariuki Mutungi, Anthony Charo Mrima, Janet Nzilani Mulwa, Crispin Beda Nagillah, Farah Amin Shaikh Mohamed and Margaret Waringa Muigai.
The delayed approval of the nominees had caused dilemma as they could not neither practice as lawyers nor preside over court cases as judges.
And that is when Kenyans came to terms with the famous Justice chacha Mwita.
Chacha mwita has beeen involved in numerous rulings since his aappointment , many whch kenyans cannot forget.
Here are some of them
Deputy governors salaries dispute
In October 2018 , Justice Chacha Mwita ruled that the Salary and Remuneration Commission’s failure to factor in the the deputy governors house allowances was discriminatory.
The high court judge added that deputy governors are state officers hence deserve equal treatment by the commission shouldering taxpayers with the burden of paying 47 deputy governors Sh366 million every year.
“Deputy Governors have a right as state officers for their salaries and allowances to be reviewed. I observe that the law should be observed and applied equally to all regardless of their status,” ruled Justice Mwita.
Miguna Miguna homecoming
In 2018 February there was an outcry after Miguna Miguna was deported from Kenya to Canada. Government officials said Miguna was deported because he had denounced Kenyan citizenship.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Mwenda Njoka said Miguna renounced his Kenyan citizenship years back, acquired Canadian citizenship and never bothered to reclaim Kenyan citizenship in the legally prescribed manner, neither did he disclose that he had another country’s citizenship despite being a lawyer who should have known better.
However in December 2018 ,Justice Chacha Mwita ruled that Miguna Migunas’ kenyan birthright is not affected by him holding a Canadian passport. He added that Miguna’s rights were violated when the State deported him.
The judge awarded Miguna-Miguna Sh7 million as compensation.
University lecturers travel restrictions
In August 2018 , in a judgment issued by Justice Enoch Chacha Mwita, the court quashed the circular which imposed the travelling restriction of lecturers saying it was issued contrary to the provisions of the constitution by the government.
The University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) had sued the Attorney General and the head of public service Joseph Kinyua in protest of the government’s move.
Justice Mwita ruled that the government did not satisfactorily justify why it was necessary to limit lecturers’ right to movement when travelling outside the country.
“When lecturers plan to travel out of the country, they would most certainly inform their Vice Chancellors, deans of faculties, school or principals of colleges of their absence and perhaps make arrangements respecting their classes or lessons,” said Justice Mwita.
“It is not that they would just walk out of lecture halls and travel out of the country without such arrangements knowing as they certainly do that they owe a duty to their students, which, in my view is all they need to do without the necessity of limiting their fundamental right of movement.”
The judge said social policies, actions and decisions must not devalue fundamental rights and freedoms in the bill of rights.
Long live the Kenyan judge