Politics

Chief Justice David Maraga has torn into President Uhuru Kenyatta over his continued disobedience of Kenya’s constitution.

Addressing journalists at the Supreme Court, Nairobi on Monday June 8, 2020, Maraga called on President Kenyatta to demonstrate and respect the rule of law.

He said the refusal of the President to appoint the 41 judges was a grave violation of the constitution.

The CJ said the government can not demand obedience of the law from its citizens when the government itself is disobeying the same law.

“The President’s disregard of court orders, doesn’t board well for our constitutional democracy and is potentially a recipe for anarchy. The Executive routinely disregards court orders, ” said Maraga.

The president’s refusal to swear in 41 judges, according to Maraga has created a shortage and backlog of cases. For instance, Maraga said, if you file a land case in the environment and land court at Milimani in Nairobi today, the earliest your case will be heard is in 2022.

“If you file a land case in the environment and land court at Milimani in Nairobi today, the earliest your case will be heard is in 2022. The Court of Appeal has only 15 Judges serving the republic with a case load of 7,315 as at 31st March 2020,” CJ Maraga said.

Making a statement that he said was meant to address the head of state directly, Maraga said he has for a long time unsuccessfully sought audience with President Kenyatta to have the issues solved.

“I have for a long time now unsuccessfully sought an appointment to discuss this issue with you, leaving me no choice but to raise the matter through this public statement; you swore to defend and uphold the constitution & the laws of Kenya,” he said.

He says attempts to compel the accounting officers in the relevant ministries are always rebuffed with the contemptuous “Utado?” mentality.

“Attempts to compel the accounting officers in the relevant ministries are always rebuffed with the contemptuous “Utado?” mentality. How can we expect God to bless our nation, when we’re so callous to the most desperate in our society,” he noted.

Chief Justice David Maraga has protested President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Executive Order that has re-organised various arms of the government.

The head of State in the order signed on May 11 assigned functions and institutions among ministries and state departments, superseding the Executive Order No. 1 of 2018 (Revised) issued in July 2018.

He specified functions of the constitutional commissions, independent offices, the Judiciary and Parliament.

But in a statement issued on Thursday June 4, CJ Maraga has told off President Kenyatta on the executive order.

The statement that has been shared via Maraga’s official twitter handle, says the manner in which the judiciary operates cannot be the subject of an Executive Order.

Maraga further notes that the Judiciary is neither a ministry nor a government department which can be “organised” by an Executive Order.

President Kenyatta in his order placed the Judicial Service Commission under a state department.

CJ Maraga in his protest letter further notes that JSC is part of the Judiciary, a government branch that can’t be assigned functions by the executive.

He says an Executive order cannot restructure or assign functions to the other co- equal and co-substantial arms of government and independent commissions.

According to Maraga, the order only applies to and is indeed only capable of applying to the Executive branch of government.

The order, Maraga says, might have been subject to an error, which he hopes the executive arm of the government will come out clear and rectify, to avoid confusing the citizens.