The government will appeal against a court ruling that stopped the vetting of judges and magistrates.

On Monday, Justices Mohamed Warsame and George Odunga granted orders stopping the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board from carrying on with its proceedings until October 9.

A third judge Geoffrey Kimondo however, gave a dissenting ruling. After a crisis meeting with various state attorneys yesterday, Attorney General Githu Muigai announced that he will lodge an appeal.

Present at the meeting were Justice minister Eugene Wamalwa, the Parliament's justice and legal affairs committee chairman Njoroge Baiya, chairman of the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee Mohamed Abdikadir, JMVB chair Sharad Rao, CIC chairman Charles Nyachae and chairman of the commission for administrative Justice Otiende Amolo.

"We have been meeting in the Attorney General's chambers over the order regarding the directions issued to the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board to stop the vetting process. We have arrived at a unanimously decision," said the AG.

The appeal, Githu said, was due to be filed by yesterday, "because there was no specific reference to the constitution to bar Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board" in the ruling.

Githu said the board was operating under strict deadlines, "thus the need to remove the roadblocks that might hinder it delivering its mandate on time.

The court ruling has infuriated the Rao-led board who has said the board will ignore it. Rao said the board does not recognise the jurisdiction of the courts to question or review its processes and decisions. "They cannot be players and referees at the same time,"

Rao on Monday said the board was preparing a schedule to vet the remaining 16 judges of the High Court. Meanwhile, CIC chairman Charles Nyachae has called on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to fully implement the Political Parties and the Elections Acts.