Tuju s Warning to Judges Raises Concern
Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju addresses the media in 2019.
File
Speaking in an interview on
NTV on Monday, May 17, the Cabinet Secretary without portfolio reminded the judges that they depend on the same government they were reportedly fighting and frustrating. He further accused them of disrespecting President Uhuru Kenyatta by referring to him as Mr , and also limiting his powers in his role as a symbol of national unity.
Justices Teresia Matheka, Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Jairus Ngaah, and Chacha Mwita - on Thursday, May 13 - ruled that the BBI initiative was unconstitutional and that Uhuru failed to respect, uphold and safeguard the Constitution by initiating a referendum.
“Judges should learn the word ‘interdependence’ because as soon as they finish a ruling, they need policemen to escort them home as guards or drivers. The world is much more complicated. We are a little more humble than the judges who say this is what is, period! If you don’t like it, period!”
His sentiments came a few days after a five-judge bench declared the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) irregular, illegal and unconstitutional.
The BBI bill is considered a brainchild of President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga. It seeks to, among others, change the constitution so as to allow the increase in funding at the grassroots and increase political positions within the executive.
THE STANDARD
NATIONAL
Chief Justice nominee Martha Koome when she appeared before National Assembly s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee.[Elvis Ogina, Standard]
Chief Justice nominee Martha Koome has defended herself against objections to her recruitment by the Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi based on her handling of a dispute between the National Produce and Cereals Board and Erad, a company associated with the late Jacob Juma.
Before the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), Koome said her decision, which was shared with other bench members saved the country from losing public funds.
Justice Koeme said Havi questioned her ruling in 2012 in a case where Erad supplied maize to the Cereals Board and obtained a decree to be paid some money but the board appealed the decision.