Upon retiring from the Supreme Court, President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him as chairperson of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
[7] Other members of the tribunal were Justice Rtd Festus Azangalala, Ambrose Weda, Andrew Bahati Mwamuye, Sylvia Wanjiku Muchiri, Lucy Kanbuni, and Amina Abdalla.
After receiving and considering all evidence presented, which included a visit to the Judge's home to investigate whether he benefited from a private road constructed using public funds in exchange for a favorable decision, the Tribunal returned a verdict in August 2019 clearing him of all the allegations of misconduct.
[8] In its findings, the Tribunal faulted the JSC for refusing the Judge the chance to appear before the sub-committee through his lawyer rather than in person, for relying on draft rules of procedure to determine the process to be followed during the proceedings, for failing to consider evidence from a surveyor the commission had retained to check whether the road in question was private or public, and for insisting that the Judge should appear before JSC Commissioners who had adopted a hostile line of questioning during his interviews for the office of Chief Justice.
His appointment was viewed as a reward for his pro-government decisions while on the Supreme Court, particularly his dissenting vote to affirm President Kenyatta's win in the 2017 Presidential election which was nullified by the majority.
This move attracted outrage from several Kenyans given his advanced age, the lack of transparency in the appointment process and the need to create opportunities for younger people.
Justice Githinji was appointed by the President to chair the Tax Appeals Tribunal though the High Court issued temporary orders stopping him from taking office after the Law Society of Kenya filed a constitutional reference [2].