Raila Should Be The Last Person To Tell CJ To Snub The President
The Mt Kenya Times 
Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- The position of the President was very clear. He looked forward to see the three arms working together in order to transform and better the lives of Kenyans. This explains why he proposed that the two Speakers of the bicameral parliament should attend that meeting.
- It is worth to note this. When Raila Odinga was the Prime Minister and later during the tenure of the ‘handshake’ government, President Mwai Kibaki and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta used to hold similar meetings with CJ and members of JSC.
- At the time, Raila would not fault the two President.
- Today, nothing has changed. Raila is simply fighting President Ruto because he refused to share his government with him.
A day after the Chief Justice Martha Koome revealed that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) had agreed to hold dialogue with the President, Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga came out gun blazing.
He termed the decision by the JSC as ill-advised while claiming that President is out to tame and compromise the Judiciary.
Being one of the three arms of the government, the role of Judiciary is paramount.
Apart from being the custodian of the constitution and other written laws, it is mandated to interpret the laws.
In light of this, Raila asked the CJ to rethink her stand and snub that meeting.
As the head of JSC, you are supposed to guide your members.
Here Raila was just playing politics. He got an opportunity to once again settle political scores with President Ruto.
We know he has been harboring grudges with the judiciary since the Supreme Court dismissed his presidential petition.
He immediately kicked the campaign of denouncing the verdict and name calling of the judges.
As Azimio, we had won this election but President Ruto bribed his way. Judges had received hefty bribes.
So, we never got justice which was on sale. But Raila and his brigade would not produce an iota of evidence to support their claims.
On the day of filing his petition Raila ferried so-called ‘evidence’ with a lorry.
When the judgement was rendered, it turned this was just a hot-air. He would not prove any of his prayers beyond reasonable doubt.
This is not the first time that Raila would engage the judges of apex court to no-hold-barred attacks.
He had employed a similar strategy after losing the presidential elections of 2013 and 2017 respectively.
Well, the government is formed by three key arms, namely Parliament, Executive and Judiciary.
The Constitution of 2010 envisaged that the three arms should work independently but the same law required the arms to embrace the spirit of interdependence and complementarity.
So when the conflicts arise, the law required the holders to hold dialogue.
This was with a view of coming up with an amicable solution.
It was within the context that the CJ had stated that the JSC wanted to meet the President.
So, the President was on the right course when he announced that he was willing to meet the CJ and members of JSC.
The position of the President was very clear. He looked forward to see the three arms working together in order to transform and better the lives of Kenyans. This explains why he proposed that the two Speakers of the bicameral parliament should attend that meeting.
It is worth to note this. When Raila Odinga was the Prime Minister and later during the tenure of the ‘handshake’ government, President Mwai Kibaki and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta used to hold similar meetings with CJ and members of JSC.
At the time, Raila would not fault the two President.
Today, nothing has changed. Raila is simply fighting President Ruto because he refused to share his government with him.
When Executive and Judiciary war started, the first question that came to my mind was. Who will blink first?
Well, the CJ addressed the second press conference on the same matter. Unlike the first one when she came out gun-blazing and cast a demeanor of being ready to face the President head-on, this time she had toned town.
We heard the President. After doing a critical analyses and considering the concerns he had raised, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) gave me the greenlight to seek audience with the president.
In this meeting, I’m sure we will come up with an amicable solution.
It is worth noting that the CJ softened her hardline stance just four days after members of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) took to the street.
Though President William Ruto was their main target, he remained undeterred. The lawyers had alleged that he was interfering with the independence of the Judiciary. The head of state is out to derail the gains anchored in the new constitution that was promulgated in 2010.
How? They would not convincingly prove their claims.
To me, this would not come as a surprise.
Many Kenyans believed that some of the lawyers and judges were birds of same feather. They were very corrupt and eating proceeds of corruption together.
The high and mighty would always have their way. This is because they had money to buy them. Perhaps, this is what prompted CJ Martha Koome to change her mind.
This would take me down the memory lane. Why hire lawyer when you can buy a judge? This was a popular phrase during the tenures of the previous administrations.
As such, this is one of the challenges that President Ruto inherited when he assumed office.
For the ‘corrupt’ lawyers, they know they can only have their way if they work with ‘corrupt’ judges and magistrates.
This explains why they would come out to defend the ‘tainted’ judicial officers.
Well, I heard the lawyers challenging President William Ruto to produce evidence to prove his claims. I never heard them piling the same pressure on President Mwai Kibaki and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta.
So, I would interpret this as a strategy designed to blackmail and intimidate President Ruto. I want to remind them that Dr Ruto is a hard nut to crack. He is also a clever and well schooled leader. Having served the previous administrations, he had also learnt big lessons.
He therefore knows the tricks that the lawyers use to defend their accomplices. Therefore, he is not afraid of facing them head-on.
The Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua have since set the ball rolling. He has announced that he had a water-tight evidence against one of the senior judge which he will present to the Chief Justice this week.
Reacting to lawyers protest, President Ruto stated. I heard some people making noises in the streets. This is what I want to tell them.
My plan to clean the judiciary is unstoppable. The days of ‘corrupt’ judges are numbered.
It is worth noting the President receives undiluted intelligence briefings on daily basis.
Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga has lately been working very hard to gain political relevance. This explains why he is leading the anti-Ruto brigade.
President Ruto rightly states. As the custodian of the constitution and other written laws, the core mandate of the Judiciary is to interpret the law.
However, it is unfortunate to note that some of the ‘corrupt’ judges had been rendering decisions that flew in the face of this imperative.
The Judges’ endgame was to derail and sabotage my government’s efforts to implement the pre-election promises.
As a President, I also took the oath of office to protect, defend and uphold the Constitution of Kenya. So, I want to tell them. We will no longer obey their orders.
I’m not holding brief for the President but contrary to recent media reports he has not changed his position. He was very clear in his mind while calling on the three arms of the government-Executive, Parliament and Judiciary-to live up to their constitutional oath of office. Each arm have a role to play in furthering the common good of the Kenyan public. Let us put the people of Kenya first. Let us work together.
Dr Ruto’s critics have been doing very well. This is in terms of distorting and misinterpreting his statements.
At no time did the President say he will not obey court orders. My government remains true to the course of respecting the independence of judiciary and honoring its decisions.
The judges have had a bone to pick with me because I have kept my word that we will never bribe any of them.
Kibaki, Uhuru efforts to clean the rot of judiciary did not bore the fruits.
This brings me to the question. Will President Ruto succeed? Let us pray for him. If he succeeds to clean the rot, this will be for the good of all of us as Kenyans.
Last year as he led the nation in marking 60th Mashujaa day cerebrations, Dr Ruto reiterated.
The days of public servants and state officers who were contemplating stealing and looting the taxpayers’ money were numbered.
He noted that billions of shillings had been allocated to run Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
A huge chunk of the money comes from your pockets, your monthly contributions.
The national and county governments will also allocate more funds to power this noble initiative.
My fellow Kenyans, take I will be hard very on corrupt riddled personalities.
The president had earlier reiterated the place of state officials stealing hard earned public taxes is in jail.
During Devolution Conference held in Eldoret, he had fired a similar warning. He told governors of 47 counties. The national government has been allocating a huge chunk of taxpayer money. Kenyans want to see the value of their money. What most of you have done so far is below their expectations.
He spoke as some 8 current and former governors were battling charges of corruption, economic sabotage and abuse of office in court.
This reminded me of what happened in Nigeria when the devolution was introduced. The pioneer county bosses thought that it is time to eat.
Little did they know that then President was a non-nonsense man. He was committed to walk the talk in slaying the dragon of corruption. He left half of them in jail when he retired.
Since he assumed office, President Ruto has remained consistent and focused in these endeavours. He always escalated the matters by calling on the heads of the anti-graft bodies to live up to their oath of office. There are no sacred cows in my government. You have my full support.
Turning to elected leaders, he always reminded them that they were not above the law. You must be accountable to the electorates. If not, you are not worth to be called leaders. They did not elect you to steal their resources. A number of state officials are currently battling charges of corruption and economic sabotage in courts.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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