Former Attorney-General Paul Kihara Kariuki Dies
Election
Originally published by NTV Kenya — Read the original article →
Candidate announcement
Former Attorney-General and Court of Appeal President, Justice (Rtd) Paul Kihara Kariuki, has died, bringing to an end a distinguished legal career spanning more than four decades.
Born in Kiambu in 1954, Kariuki graduated with a law degree from the University of Nairobi in 1977. He began his career in private legal practice before joining the Judiciary as a High Court judge in 2003. He later served as the first Director of the Judiciary Training Institute and, in 2013, became the first elected President of the Court of Appeal under the 2010 Constitution.
In 2018, former President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him Kenya’s seventh Attorney-General, a position he held until 2022. His tenure was marked by significant tensions between the Executive and Judiciary, particularly over the appointment of 41 judges recommended by the Judicial Service Commission. The Law Society of Kenya threatened to have him struck off the Roll of Advocates, accusing him of professional misconduct for allegedly failing to advise the President to appoint the judges. However, the judges were eventually sworn in during President William Ruto’s administration.
