In the race to succeed retired Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, only one female applicant has made it to the final list of potential candidate.
Justice Roseline Nambuye of the court of appeal was also revealed by the shortlist brought forward by the Judicial Service Commission. However, chances of her clinching the top judge position are very slim or close to impossibility.
Nambuye is technically out even before the race begins on August 29 owing to the gender guidelines as explained by acting JSC chairperson Margaret Kobia.
“CJ can be either gender. However if it happens to be a woman for CJ then deputy must be a man or vice versa. That’s how it works. If the CJ is a man, most likely... not most likely, the Deputy CJ will be a woman,” said Kobia.
From the explanation, it basically means that the next CJ will be a man because from the released shortlist all the applicant for Deputy Chief Justice are women.
Hence Nambuye could stand a chance of being the top Judge if a man would have applied for the Deputy Chief Justice position.