Charles Nyachae cites court's instability in decision to resign from EACJ

Justice Charles Nyachae has pointed the finger at financial instability and frequent session cancellations as key factors in his decision to step down from East African Court of Justice. 

Speaking before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel on Monday, Nyachae said that the challenges of serving in an ad hoc court led him to reassess his role.

“The East African Court of Justice is established as the judicial arm of the East African Community, but it is an ad hoc court,” Nyachae said, highlighting its structure, which operates on a fixed calendar with four sessions per year. However, he noted that these sessions had increasingly been called off due to financial constraints within the East African Community (EAC).

“The situation became so bad that, for the whole of 2023, I found myself earning $2,000 (Sh258,700) a month for doing nothing,” he stated, expressing frustration over the court’s inactivity. 

He emphasized that his inability to contribute meaningfully to the judicial process made him question his continued stay in the position.

“I thought long and hard, and I realized that I was not adding value to the people of East Africa by remaining in a court that hardly operated,” Nyachae said. 

Feeling that it was neither fair to himself nor the people he served, he decided to bring his concerns to the appointing authority, the President of Kenya.

“I said, ‘This is not working, and I would appreciate the opportunity to resign and pursue other endeavors,’” he recalled.

Nyachae officially stepped down as an EACJ judge on November 26, 2023, a move that was later acknowledged by the East African Community in a communiqué issued during the 23rd Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State. The EAC commended him for his service to the regional bloc.

His judicial appointment to the EACJ was made in 2018 by former President Uhuru Kenyatta. The court, established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC, is responsible for ensuring compliance with the treaty’s provisions and upholding the rule of law within the community.

Prior to his tenure at the EACJ, Nyachae served as the chairman of the now-defunct Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC). He led the CIC from its inception in 2010 following the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution until the commission’s dissolution in 2015