The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has appointed new chairpersons and members to six specialised tribunals, with Chief Justice Martha Koome, in her capacity as JSC chairperson, signing the gazette notices that set out the changes for terms of between three and five years.
The appointments, gazetted on September 25, 2026, cover the Standards Tribunal, the Competition Tribunal, the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal, the Industrial Property Tribunal, the Micro and Small Enterprises Tribunal and the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal.
Four chairpersons were named: John Joseph Wamwara for the Standards Tribunal, Valentine Mwende Mulwa for the Competition Tribunal, Doris Kinya Mwirigi for the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal and Pauline Mudeshi Muhanda for the Industrial Property Tribunal. Wamwara’s three-year term takes effect from September 2, 2026, according to the gazette notice.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 172 of the Constitution and section 16A (2) of the Standards Act, the Judicial Service Commission appoints John Joseph Wamwara to be the Chairperson of the Standards Tribunal for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 2nd September, 2026,” it reads.
Mulwa will chair the Competition Tribunal for five years, Mwirigi the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal for four years, and Muhanda the Industrial Property Tribunal for three years.
Several members were named alongside the chairpersons. On the Competition Tribunal, Dorine Kalii David was appointed for five years, while Hillary Marrirmoi and Raymond Nyamweya were reappointed for three years.
The Energy and Petroleum Tribunal gained three new members, Cynthia Opakas Andiabutswa, Yasmin Shariff Abdulkadir and Lawrence Otieno Atonga, each serving three years, while Kush Bowry and Catherine Waithira Karanja were appointed to the Industrial Property Tribunal for the same period.
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Four members were appointed to the Micro and Small Enterprises Tribunal for five years;: Duncan Mwiti Kinyua, Joan Jeptepkeny Korir, Faith Kanana Kaithia and Steffi Annette Akinyi Okallo. Linus Oyimba Makhulo and Susy Ekesa Rauto were named members of the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal for three years.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 172 of the Constitution and section 47 (2) of the Retirement Benefits Act, the Judicial Service Commission appoints Linus Oyimba Makhulo and Susy Ekesa Rauto to be Members of the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal, for a period of three (3) years,” the notice states.
The tribunals hear appeals, complaints and other disputes that call for specialised legal and technical knowledge. Following their transition into the Judiciary’s administrative framework, the JSC took over responsibility for appointing their chairpersons and members, while the Office of the Registrar of Tribunals oversees their day-to-day administration, including registries, infrastructure and shared services.
More than 26 specialised tribunals have now moved under that framework, covering sectors ranging from competition, energy and petroleum, standards and industrial property to retirement benefits, taxation, capital markets, sports and political parties.
The Competition Tribunal, for example, hears appeals arising from decisions of the Competition Authority of Kenya, while the Standards Tribunal handles appeals from standards-related decisions and the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal deals with disputes in the energy sector.
Friday’s appointments follow a wider recruitment drive by the JSC. In November 2025, the Commission opened applications for 26 positions across various tribunals, inviting both advocates and non-advocates to apply, with a December 5 deadline and a warning that any form of canvassing would lead to automatic disqualification.
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