The rise of Judge Katwa Kigen from courtroom advocate to the bench
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, April 29, 2026The rise of Joseph Kipchumba Katwa Kigen into the higher echelons of the Kenyan judiciary is one of the most fascinating legal journeys. He has gone from constitutional lawyer to judge of the Court of Appeal to a nominee and interviewee for the Supreme Court, with his ascent to the highest court of the land garnering both respect and suspicion.
Katwa Kigen has long been a presence in Kenya’s legal elite. He specialised in constitutional law and took on intricate cases that often played out in the political arena. But his notoriety skyrocketed when he joined the team representing President William Ruto in one of the most landmark cases in the president’s political journey.
Kigen was part of the team that defended Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC), a case that thrust him into the international spotlight. More recently, he was again a prominent member of the team defending Ruto’s election win in 2022 at the Supreme Court.
These engagements placed his legal name squarely in the middle of some of the most important political-legal battles of recent Kenyan history.
In early 2026, Katwa Kigen was appointed to the Court of Appeal by the Judicial Service Commission. He was then shortlisted for interviews for the Supreme Court, which sparked immediate controversy about his impartiality and past political affiliation.
Kigen commits to impartiality.
At his Supreme Court interview on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, his association with President Ruto was at the forefront. The Commission asked him about the possibility of his previous role as Ruto’s lawyer impacting his ability to remain objective in a case involving the president or the government.
In his response, Katwa Kigen strongly denied that his past association would lead to a conflict of interest. He pointed out that in the legal profession, attorneys are hired to represent clients who may later be before the court and that this does not preclude a lawyer from becoming a judge.
He added his oath, as a judge would oblige him to adhere to the Constitution and the law and not to a person or a previous professional relationship. He said that a judge’s oath of office will bind him to the Constitution and the law, not his former clients, and that his ruling in any case will be based on law and evidence. He also emphasised that there are judicial mechanisms, such as recusal, in place to address conflicts of interest.
“I have indeed represented him. I intend to be as objective and neutral in the discharge of my functions as a judge. I will be fair and will only deal with facts and the law,” Kigen said.
“To distinguish me just because of one client, a criterion that has not been applied to other candidates who applied to be judges would probably not be quite fair,” he added.
As his name regularly appears in the list of potential Supreme Court judges, the answer may remain a mystery: is Judge Katwa Kigen a tale of merit or political goodwill?