Court of Appeal hopeful Migai Akech fires ‘hot air’ jab at CJ Koome during interview
By Luke Oluoch, January 12, 2026Legal scholar Migai Akech shared a cheeky and light-hearted moment with Chief Justice Martha Koome during his interview for the position of Judge of the Court of Appeal, conducted on Monday, January 12, 2026.
Appearing before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), led by the CJ, Akech caused a stir with his witty response to a question from the Chief Justice about the special skills, knowledge, and value he would bring to the Court of Appeal if appointed.
Hot air
The constitutional law expert who teaches at the University of Nairobi defended his record as a writer, bluntly stating that words such as “hot air” would not find their way into his rulings and judgments should he be appointed as a Court of Appeal judge.
“I am an excellent researcher and effective communicator, having taught for the last 27 years. I believe I also write very well in a balanced way, and words like ‘hot air’ will not find their way into my judgments,” he said.
The line drew laughter during the live JSC interviews with Koome, among those who laughed them off.
In what appears to be part of his thought-out introductory remark, he stated, “When I reflected on the question, I thought that since appeal courts deal primarily with documents, my record in the academic field qualifies me for the role,” he posited moments before delivering the “hot air” line.
Akech on Koome’s 2022 ruling
Akech borrowed from his own past commentary in 2022 when he faulted the Raila Odinga-led Azimio side for failing to exercise due diligence in their legal challenge to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) declaration of William Ruto as president-elect before the Martha Koome-led Supreme Court bench.
In a widely shared reflection, he noted, “I also know that some people even designed for Azimio an excellent system for the collection of evidence from polling stations in real time, but this was ignored and not deployed. This would have saved Azimio from embarrassing themselves by taking hot air to the Supreme Court.”
The famous remarks were made by the CJ while delivering a ruling on the presidential petition filed by the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition in September 2022.