Judiciary rocked by retirement-age spat

Kenya’s top judges have met in Nairobi to deliberate on a case involving Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal who has taken legal steps to block her enforced retirement at the age of 70. The Nation reports that Chief Justice Willy Mutunga finds himself embroiled in a succession battle he has tried to avoid since 2013, when he sought legal advice on the retirement age of judges. The Court of Appeal last week ruled that judges should retire at the age of 70, upholding an earlier ruling of a five-judge Bench of the High Court. However, Rawal secured a stay order from Lady Justice Njoki Ndung’u of the Supreme Court (which did not want to hear the case in the first place). Ndung’u set the hearing for 24 June which is five days after Mutunga is due to retire.