Court of Appeal judge Martha Koome was on Tuesday nominated for the position of Chief Justice amid claims from top lawyer Fred Ngatia that he was rigged out in a selection where scores by individual candidates were not made public.

Ms Koome beat off competition from nine other candidates, including judges, prominent lawyers in private practice and law scholars, to be picked by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to become Kenya’s first female Chief Justice.

The JSC has forwarded her name to President Uhuru Kenyatta for appointment and insisted it will not reveal the scores for each candidate.

The other candidates were Justice Said Juma Chitembwe, Prof Patricia Mbote, Justice Njagi Marete, Mr Philip Murgor, Justice Nduma Nderi, Justice William Ouko, Prof Moni Wekesa and Ms Alice Yano.

Mr Ngatia, who had been tipped as one of the frontrunners, disputed Justice Koome’s nomination, saying that the JSC manipulated his scores.

If approved, Justice Koome will head the Judiciary for the next 10 years, marking the first time that holders of the two most powerful positions in the Judiciary are women. The current deputy and acting Chief Justice is Philomena Mwilu.

Renowned for her passion for children and women’s rights, Justice Koome joined the High Court in 2003 and served in several stations among them Nakuru and Nairobi, before she was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2011.