Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi has revealed fresh details of a high-level meeting at State House during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, shedding new light on the controversial delay in the appointment of 41 judges in 2020.
In a statement posted on his social media platforms, Havi recounted that two days after he was elected LSK President, he was invited to a luncheon meeting by the President’s Secretary, who conveyed President Kenyatta’s congratulations and expressed a desire for the lawyers’ body to work closely with the government.
Havi said he seized the opportunity to raise what had become one of the country’s most contentious constitutional issues—the swearing-in of the 41 judges recommended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
According to Havi, the President’s Secretary responded that some of the judges had allegedly been implicated in criminal activities, making the President unwilling to appoint them.
Havi says he challenged that position, proposing that the judges first be sworn in before any facing credible allegations were subjected to the constitutional removal process.
“Let us swear them in and immediately initiate their removal. Give me the evidence. I will go public with it,” Havi recalled telling the official.
The former LSK President claims the official rejected the proposal, allegedly warning that some of the judges were too influential to confront.
“These judges who are criminals are so much connected that you will get killed if you dared fight them. Some of us at State House cannot even dare mention the evidence about them,” Havi quoted the official as saying.
Havi further disclosed that the meeting was attended by former Chief Justice Dr. Willy Mutunga and former Makueni Governor Prof. Kivutha Kibwana. He recalled a light-hearted moment when Mutunga jokingly asked what their “kinsman” was planning, to which Havi replied that they were discussing “matters of State.”
The revelations revive debate over the constitutional standoff that marked the latter years of the Kenyatta administration after the President declined to appoint all the judges recommended by the Judicial Service Commission. The move triggered litigation, criticism from sections of the legal fraternity and renewed concerns over the separation of powers between the Executive and the Judiciary.
Havi’s account has renewed public interest in the circumstances surrounding the delayed appointments and the alleged existence of intelligence reports that were cited at the time to justify withholding the appointments. His claims have not been independently verified, and no evidence has been made public to support the allegations he attributes to the State House official.
The former LSK President said the meeting took place two days after his election in 2020, describing it as one of the earliest engagements between the legal profession’s leadership and the Kenyatta administration during a period of heightened tension over judicial independence.
The controversy over the delayed appointments later culminated in a landmark High Court ruling in February 2026, which found that the State had violated the constitutional rights of the 41 judges by failing to appoint them despite their recommendation by the Judicial Service Commission. Justice Lawrence Mugambi awarded each of the judges KSh2.5 million in general damages, bringing the total compensation to KSh102.5 million, and held that the prolonged delay had infringed on their rights to dignity and fair administrative action. The court also noted that public claims questioning some of the judges’ integrity were never backed by evidence or formal findings.
