The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, kicked off interviews for the position of a Supreme Court judge.

The interviews that are set to end on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, seek to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Mohamed Ibrahim in December 2025.

President William Ruto’s former lawyer and current Court of Appeal judge, Katwa Kigen, is among five shortlisted candidates who faced the interviewing panel on the first day of the exercise.

Katwa Kigen on hot seat

The panel brought to the attention of Kigen that a section of Kenyans had written to JSC raising concerns about his candidature.

According to the letter, which was read to Kigen after he denied receipt, the said Kenyans had expressed concerns that his having been President Ruto’s lawyer before made him unfit for the position.

The letter read that in the event Kigen becomes successful at the interview and joins the six judges at the Supreme Court just a year before the next general election, which President Ruto will contest, his judgment might be biased in case a presidential election petition is filed.

“They are expressing their misgivings about your candidature. Firstly, they are concerned over the fact that you have been a lawyer to HE President William Ruto, who is likely to be a candidate in the elections of 2027. The fear that these Kenyans have is that in the event you are successful and you join the six judges in the Supreme Court, and then thereafter there is a petition challenging the presidential elections for the year 2027, their fear is that you are likely not to be impartial,” Fatuma Sichale, Court of Appeal representative at the JSC, told Kigen.

While defending himself, Kigen said that he intends to be neutral while discharging his functions as a judge.

He also noted that distinguishing him just because of one client was unfair.

“To distinguish me just because of one client would not be fair. To be told that I am disadvantaged just because of the type of client I represented would be a borderline case of discrimination. View me for what I stand for, which is integrity, fairness, and justice,” he said.

Five shortlisted candidates

Katwa Kigen is among the five candidates shortlisted for the position of judge of the Supreme Court.

In a notice issued on Friday, March 27, JSC secretary Winfridah Mokaya revealed that six candidates applied for the position, and five of them have been shortlisted for interviews.

According to the commission, the recruitment process began on January 28, 2026, when the JSC first advertised the position.

The shortlisted candidates include Court of Appeal Judge Joseph Kipchumba Katwa Kigen, Anne Waceke Kiratu Makori, Justice Joseph Kiplagat Sergon, Justice Francis Kipruto Tuiyott, and Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Warsame.