[3] Following his admission to the Kenyan bar in 1978, David Maraga ran a private law practice for over 25 years in Nakuru, specializing in civil and criminal litigation as well as conveyancing.
[8] In 2013, the President of Kenya named Justice Maraga as the chair of a tribunal which was constituted to investigate the conduct of High Court Judge Joseph Mutava after the Judicial Service Commission recommended a tribunal to investigate complaints that the Judge had been compromised to deliver a judgment which cushioned Goldenberg suspect Kamlesh Pattni from prosecution over his involvement in the Goldenberg scandal.
The tribunal submitted a report in September 2016, recommending to the president that Justice Mutava be removed from office for improperly allocating himself the Kamlesh Pattni file when it did not fall under his docket, and proceeding to write a judgment in the case even though the Judicial Service Commission was investigating his conduct.
B. Ojwang' dissenting), Chief Justice David Maraga made history by nullifying the August 2017 presidential election because of illegalities and irregularities that were presented by the petitioners.
[23] Under the 2010 Constitution, Kenya's Parliament had five years to enact legislation ensuring that no more than two-thirds of members of elective public bodies be of the same gender.
The Two-thirds Gender Rule had been the subject of years of litigation by civil society organizations which resulted in numerous Court Orders requiring Parliament to pass the law but the House did not enact any such legislation despite several extensions of the original 5-year deadline.
While the High Court issued orders freezing the advisory,[24] this move worsened the relations between the Executive headed by President Kenyatta and the judiciary under Maraga's leadership.
Chief Justice David Maraga was the subject of several petitions inviting the Judicial Service Commission to remove him from office over gross misconduct.
One such petition was filed in March 2019 by Yusuf Dimbil through lawyer Charles Koech on grounds that the Chief Justice allegedly attended Jubilee Party's political rallies, employed people from his ethnic Kisii group in the judiciary and made unconstitutional utterances.
[25] Maraga had earlier been spotted attending a Jubilee Party rally headlined by President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto in Kisii.
[27] In 2013, the judiciary entered into a six-year lease agreement of Elgon Place in Upper Hill for an annual rent of Sh603.6 million to be used by the Court of Appeal.
[28] The activist had filed a case in the Employment & Labour Relations Court to challenge a move by the government to re-advertise the vacancy for the auditor general.
[30][31] On 30 June 2020, a 30-year-old woman caused a dramatic scene at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, where she alleged that Chief Justice Maraga had neglected a child they had together in 2014 following an extra-marital affair.
The woman also alleged that the Chief Justice had subsequently used his high office to frustrate her attempts to file a child support case in Kenyan Courts.
[32] Speaking through his lawyers, the Chief Justice denied any knowledge of the woman while dismissing her claims as the latest in a well choreographed state-sponsored plot to undermine his office and malign his name.
Maraga's lawyers highlighted several gaps in the woman's claims, including inconsistencies in the Birth Certificate she produced to support the child's parentage.
His reform record pales in comparison to his predecessor Willy Mutunga who achieved far reaching results with the Judiciary Transformation Framework.
Maraga's legacy as an administrator was particularly tainted by the widespread perception that he preferred members of his Kisii ethnic group in appointments within the judiciary in general and his office in particular.