President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party has written to
Chief Justice David Maraga, accusing him and the Judiciary of poor leadership,
bias, impunity and double standards. In a strongly worded three-page letter to
Maraga,
Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju detailed seven cases
where his party believes the Judiciary had shown it was favouring the
Opposition, something that is likely to start a war with the Judiciary.
Uhuru’s party claimed the Judiciary was being controlled by
National Super Alliance (NASA) and ODM as well as "cartels of
tenderprenuers who were bleeding the country by aiding fraud".
In what appears like the "revisiting" the
President promised when he voiced his displeasure with the Supreme Court's
ruling that annulled his victory in last year’s August 8 elections, Tuju
pointed a finger at the number of rulings that, he said, favoured the
Opposition.
While reacting to the court's ruling a day after his victory
was annulled on September 1, 2017, Uhuru made the infamous "we shall
revisit" remarks. He said the country had a problem with the Judiciary
that needed to be fixed.
Maraga, Deputy CJ Philomena Mwilu, judges Smokin Wanjala and
Isaac Lenaola were in favour of annulling the poll while judges Jackton Ojwang
and Njoki Ndung'u dissented. Tuju's letter comes a day after Mr Kenyatta picked
three nominees to sit in the Judicial Service Commission.
The three are former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Felix
Koskei, former Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor Olive Mugenda and former
clerk of the National Assembly Patrick Gichohi. On Tuesday, the President also
made changes in the office of the Attorney General, nominating Justice Kihara
Kariuki to replace Githu Muigai and lawyer Kennedy Ogeto as Solicitor General.
Tuju complained that when NASA boycotted the repeat
elections that the Maraga-led bench had ordered held in 60 days, the Supreme
Court did not reprimand the Opposition for defiance. “I state the following
not to provoke you but to submit that no power is absolute, for the Judiciary,
executive or legislature, irresponsible actions from Judiciary, executive or
legislature can burn the country, with all due respect you almost burned the
country after the elections of August 8 2017,” he said.
In the no holds barred communication, Tuju listed case by
case the rulings by courts the party felt favoured the Opposition. Tuju said
when JP went to court to challenge the legality of NASA leader Raila Odinga's withdrawal
from the repeat elections, the Supreme Court went ahead to give a post facto
date, thereby denying them the opportunity to be heard on time. “The Supreme
Court saw nothing urgent with this petition to the court, and gave a hearing of
October 27th, a post defacto date.
This was like a naughty wink to NASA to continue with their
contempt of the Supreme Court,” his letter reads in part.
Uhuru’s party said in the Njonjo Mue and Khelef Khalifa
case, seeking to alter the date of repeat polls from October 26, the Supreme
court ‘fast-tracked the hearing of the case and scheduled it on a public
holiday indicating the court’s favouritism. Tuju further said even after the
Judiciary upheld Uhuru’s victory on the repeat polls, NASA has continued to
defy court orders with abandon including going on with the ‘swearing–in of
Raila’.
He further accused Maraga of failing to offer leadership on
the swearing-in, and instead saying that every judge has a right to rule the
way they deemed fit for cases before them. “I sincerely hoped that you were
misquoted otherwise this would have been taken to be another wink at NASA to
continue with their nonsense.”
Efforts to reach the Judiciary for a response on the matter
were futile. However, NASA chief executive Norman Magaya said the letter was a
clear manifestation that Jubilee had become allergic to the rule of law.
The lessons Jubilee has been learning from the Communist
Party of China are now evident, he claimed. Senate Minority Leader Moses
Wetang'ula said Tuju was being used by those who were "ruling with
impunity".
Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen said everything in
the letter was factual. "How many court orders have the Opposition defied?
It is clear they are skewed in their decisions, sometimes in favour of the
Opposition."
