President William Ruto, in a historic move, has broken his silence and responded on social media where he has made clear his intentions on the Judiciary, as the storm he brewed rages.
In a post on his official X account on Thursday, January 4, the Head of State remained defiant in the wake of a monumental backlash from Kenyans over his stand that he would ignore court decisions from what he termed as ‘corrupt judicial officers’.
Breaking from the norm, President Ruto responded to Senior Counsels Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Paul Muite stating that he will not step back from his mission.
He acknowledged having been warned by Ahmednasir about the rot in the Judiciary.
To this, he said that he will not relent in kicking out the corrupt from the judiciary.
“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,” he posted.
At the same time, he noted that the era of judges being bribed to offer ‘favourable’ decisions was also coming to an end.
Authoritatively, he affirmed that ‘no single cent’ will be used to bribe judges under his watch as President.
“Muite SC (Paul), the impunity of bribing judges so as not to derail, delay, or sabotage Kenya’s imminent transformation will never happen under my watch. Not a single cent will be used to bribe nobody,” he warned.
Further, he said his call to jail, eliminate, and deport corrupt individuals remains in place.
“Mambo ya wafisadi wote ni yale nilisema… (The fate of the corrupts remains what I said – referring to his Mambo ni Matatu warning),” he warned.
In his recent speech as the year started, the Head of State complained of frustrations from the corridors of justice hindering his development agenda for Kenya.
In a tirade directed at the Judiciary headed by Chief Justice Martha Koome, Dr. Ruto lamented that people with vested interests were using the Judiciary to derail his vision. He further warned that he was not going to obey orders from such individuals.
His sentiments have elicited heated debate across the country with different leaders, institutions, organisations coming out guns blazing accusing him of preparing ground to be a dictator.
CJ Koome has condemned the sentiments of the Head of State while calling on his staff not be intimidated and remain true to their call of duty. she reiterated that any corrupt officer would not be spared, though.
“The JSC assures all Kenyans that any allegations or complaints of misconduct or corruption by any judge or judicial officer will be dealt with firmly and swiftly in accordance with the Constitution,” she said.
The CJ also reminded the President of his Oath of office where he swore to protect and uphold the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and resist any temptation to go against that oath.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK), was also on the forefront in condemning the President’s utterances and this received an almost immediate response from the Presidency.
State House, through Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed, was quick to hit back at the LSK reminding it of the many cases in courts hindering the President’s ambitions and at the same time reminding it of the good things he has done for the same Judiciary like a fat budget and swearing in of Judges who had been kept in the cold by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“From the onset of his presidency, the President took deliberate measures to rectify past injustices by appointing judicial officers who, due to Executive impunity, had been unjustly denied their rightful appointments,”
Opposition Chief, Raila Odinga has also condemned the President and warned him of dire consequences should he proceed with his intentions to ‘intimidate the Judiciary’.
Mr Odinga has called on the President to respect the sovereignty of the people and to respect the rule of Law.
