Nairobi — President Kibaki has appointed six judges.

Two will serve in the Court of Appeal and the rest at the High Court.

Those appointed to Court of Appeal were Mr Justice Daniel Aganyanya and Lady Justice Joyce Aluoch. The two have been High Court judges.

The other four are Justices Joseph Robert Karanja, Hellen Omondi, Nancy Oginde and Philomena Mbete Mwilu.

Prior to the appointment, Mr Justice Karanja and Lady Justice Omondi served as chief magistrates in Meru and Machakos, respectively.

Lady Justice Nancy Oginde worked at the Standard Chartered Bank.

Judicial commission

Their appointment was announced in a gazette notice dated December 24.

In the notice, the President said he appointed the new judges in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 61(2) of the Constitution.

He further said the appointments were made with the advice of the Judicial Service Commission.

The commission chaired by the chief justice is supposed to suggest names for appointment as judges.

The new judges arrived at the Nairobi Law Courts at 8.45am. They left the High Court precincts at 11am for State House all dressed up in judges' gowns complete with a wig. They were accompanied by chief justice Evan Gicheru.

Their appointment comes a year after the swearing in of three new judges was cancelled as the appointees waited at State House.

They were chief magistrate Aggrey Muchelule, his colleague Florence Muchemi and lawyer Abida Ali Aroni.

The three had left the law courts for State House escorted by Mr Justice Gicheru only to be informed that the ceremony had been cancelled.

Mr Muchelule graduated with a masters in law degree in 2005 at the University of Nairobi. Ms Muchemi has served as a principal magistrate in Mombasa before moving to the tribunal on environment while Ms Aroni was chairperson of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission which spearheaded the writing of a new constitution.

With the appointments the number of Court of Appeal judges now rises to 11 against the required 12.

Lady Justice Aluoch now becomes the only Court of Appeal female judge.

The High Court, which had 45 judges now has 49. For one to qualify for appointment as a judge, he or she must have served as an advocate of the High Court for not less than seven years.