Former Chief Justice Evan Gicheru is dead. 

The sad news was announced by Chief Justice David Maraga who said the former CJ died on Saturday morning but did not disclose what killed retired CJ Gicheru at the age of 79.

In his statement, Maraga remembered him as the man who entrenched judicial independence and “ending the tradition in which the judiciary took instructions from the Executive.”

“He brought honour to the office of the Chief Justice by ensuring it became the indisputable custodian of integrity within the judiciary,” he said.


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CJ David Maraga. PHOTO/COURTESY

Gicheru will be remembered for the being the chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry ino the death of former Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Ouko in the 90s.

“The Kenya and judiciary family have lost a steadfast public servant, a selfless professional and humble human being,” CJ Maraga added.

Justice Gicheru started his public service career as a District Officer in Wajir and later worked as a Senior State Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General as an administrative officer in the Office of the President.


Justice Evans Gicheru. PHOTO/COURTESY

He joined the Judiciary as a judge of the High Court in 1982 and later a judge of the Court of Appeal in 1988 before being appointed CJ in 2003 until his retirement in February 2011.

An incident that soiled Justice Gicheru’s career is the night swearing in of former President Mwai Kibaki after the hotly contested 2007 election that plunged Kenya into a post-election violence.

The controversial incident is the reason the country added a line in the Constitution that after a general election a president must be sworn in between 10am and 2pm.

Condolences to the family from the country's leaders have started pouring in: