Attacking judges and judicial officers undermines Kenya’s constitution, Chief Justice Martha Koome has said.
The Chief Justice put out a statement on 3 January in response to President Ruto’s comments on judges, saying: ‘We reaffirm the independence and integrity of the Judiciary as a co-equal arm of government.’
In November 2023, the High Court in Nairobi declared Ruto’s affordable housing levy unconstitutional. However, the court granted stay orders allowing the government to continue deducting employed Kenyans 1.5% from their monthly pay to finance the housing project until 10 January, pending the hearing of an appeal challenging its legality.
The president’s tax hikes have been a cornerstone of his policies in dealing with the high cost of living since he came to office.
Ruto accuses some of the judges of being used by his government’s detractors to frustrate his government policies, calling them corrupt cartels.
Ahmednasir SC ,you warned me of sabotage by corrupt judicial officers. I told you there are many good officers in the judiciary and that we will root out the corrupt. We shall. Muite SC, the impunity of bribing judges so as not to derail, delay, or sabotage Kenya’s imminent…
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) January 4, 2024
“We will not allow them to derail our plans. We’ll deal with them firmly,” he said, referring to a section of judges he called corrupt.
His remarks have led to public uproar over his promises to ensure the judiciary is independently run.
Blaming Muturi
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Attorney General Justin Muturi is a man on the spot over what his critics say is his continual failure to help the Ruto administration win major cases in court over its new policies.
Muturi, government’s top legal counsel appointed by Ruto, has been put to the test, and his capacity in the position is now being questioned silently by officials in government.
Muturi has been criticised over the speed at which courts are declaring as unconstitutional major policies introduced by Ruto’s regime.
In July, Law Society of Kenya president Eric Theuri said Ruto ignored Muturi’s advice against allowing strangers to attend cabinet meetings.
Theuri said that through an advisory, Muturi termed Ruto’s decision to invite his security, economic, and political party advisers to cabinet illegal, but the counsel was ignored.
Furthermore, Muturi faced a huge blow in court after the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund was suspended.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) challenged the new scheme’s operations, accusing Ruto of not engaging medical stakeholders, saying the scheme will disenfranchise Kenyan citizens from accessing health services.
Bad blood
Bad working relationships caused by disagreements on how to legally handle government policies are causing infighting between Ruto and Muturi. This has led to the government losing cases, veteran lawyer and political analyst Ojwang Agina tells The Africa Report.
“There seems to be bad blood between the presidency and the government’s legal counsel,” he says.
Agina adds that the staff shortage and lack of funds in the state law office, which has also been confirmed by Muturi in the past is undermining the performance of the government’s legal team.
“We have witnessed incompetency in courts due to unprepared state lawyers who seem not to understand these cases well,” adds Agina, saying Muturi should not be personally blamed for that.
Others also look to the president to blame.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga has termed Ruto’s remarks as unacceptable, terming them as a sign of introducing absolute dictatorship in the country.
“You have crossed the line. You want to capture the judiciary as you did parliament,” said Raila, accusing Ruto of attacking the same institution that saved his political career after the Supreme Court upheld his victory after the disputed 2022 presidential elections.
National lawyers body LSK says its members will soon participate in a countrywide peaceful protest.
Gone are the days when the judiciary played second fiddle or bowed subserviently to the executive arm of the government, presided over by the Head of State.- @etadv during a presser condemning utterances by the Head of State. pic.twitter.com/2LOm2u1sNU
— Law Society of Kenya (@LawSocietyofKe) January 3, 2024
“We must not allow our Constitution to suffer dereliction,” LSK said in a statement.
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