By Eliud Mutwiri
President William Ruto’s move to openly welcome dialogue with the judicial arm of government has been received with harsh criticism from the opposition camp.
Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Leader Raila Odinga has strongly dissented the proposed talks between the executive and the judiciary.
On Monday 14th January, Chief Justice Martha Koome through a press briefing said the Judicial Service Commission had written to the president requesting for talks.
President who was in Nandi County on Tuesday welcomed the talks saying that he would lead from the front in dialogue between the three arms of government.
Odinga claims that the dialogue will interfere with the independence of the judiciary and will be the genesis of compromising the rule of law.
“There is no need for the judiciary to hold talks with Ruto. The judiciary has said that if you don’t agree with a court ruling you should file an appeal,” said Odinga who led ODM recruitment rallies in Vihiga County.
Odinga fears that the move will interfere with the ongoing court case on the Housing Levy at a time when the court is set to pronounce its judgment next week.
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna also differed strongly with the proposed dialogue.
“What are you going to discuss with Ruto? You are going to agree with Ruto on which cases should be ruled in his favour so that Kenyans will continue to suffer,” Sifuna reiterated as he said CJ Koome should not allow room for dictatorship.
The opposition has also stood firm in their opinion that Ruto’s government ought to accept court rulings alleging that the same courts helped Ruto secure his 2022 presidential election victory.
“We were served injustice. Wafula Chebukati announced the wrong results, and we went to the court which did not rule in our favour. We respected the court,” Raila said.
Odinga added, “If Ruto was in the same position, he would have called on Kenyans to turn out in the streets to demonstrate.”
The President’s move that intends to settle the dust of the rift between the executive and the judiciary has been opposed by the opposition which fears that it would lead to interference of judicial independence.
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Eliud Mutwiri is a reporter and news anchor at KUTV. He has a bias for reporting political, business, and human-interest stories. Other areas of interest are environment, climate change and climate action reporting.