Special Court for Sierra Leone: Justice Philip Waki of Kenya sworn in as Alternate Appeal Judge

28 February 2012

The African Press Organization (APO) has reported that Justice Philip Nyamu Waki, a prominent Kenyan jurist, was sworn in on Monday, 27 February, 2012, as an alternate judge of the Special Court’s Appeals Chamber.

The solemn declaration was witnessed by Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Franklyn Bai Kargbo on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone, and by Acting Head of Mission, UNIPSIL Berhanemeskel Nega representing the United Nations.

Justice Waki joins the Appeals Chamber in advance of any appeal which may follow judgement in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. He was appointed jointly by the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone.

Justice Waki became a judge of the Kenya Court of Appeal in 2003, after having served as a Judge of the High Court of Kenya for nine years. Prior to 1995, he was in private law practice in Kenya since being called to the Bar in 1975.

Justice Waki has worked actively for reform within the Kenyan judiciary. In 2008 he was named to head the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence in Kenya, also called the “Waki Commission,” to look into the political violence committed during Kenya’s 2007 elections.

In 2008 the International Commission of Jurists (Kenya) presented Justice Waki with the “Jurist of the Year Award.”