Chief Justice David Maraga when he attended thanksgiving ceremony for
Court of Appeal President Justice William Ouko on June 29, 2018 in
Bondo, Siaya County. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
A lobby for litigants has defended Chief Justice David Maraga over accusations of interfering with judicial independence of judges and magistrates.
Litigant Association of Kenya (LAK) termed the criticism as unhealthy and meant to belittle the head of the Judiciary.
Accusations
of Mr Maraga interfering with the independence of judges and
magistrates sufficed after he called for the file of a petition that had
been filed by activist Okiya Omtatah before the Employment and Labour
Relations Court to suspend the circular that the Head of Public Service
Joseph Kinyua had issued sending on forced leave heads of procurement
and accounting units in government.
Mr Omtatah protested that Mr Maraga’s action were disturbing and unacceptable.
But
in a statement to newsrooms, LTAK head of operations Patrick Wachira
said: “It is within the mandate of the Chief Justice to give directions,
[address] complaints and act in accordance with the powers bestowed on
him by the law.”
If the Chief Justice fails to act on complaints, he said, corruption and impunity will reign in the Judiciary.
TRAVEL GUIDELINES
Mr Maraga has also been accused of curtailing the freedom of judicial staff by issuing travel guidelines.
The guidelines require judges and other judicial officers to seek his approval to attend conferences and seminars.
But
Mr Wachira defended the Mr Maraga, saying: “There is no absolute
freedom nor absolute power even within the Judiciary. The CJ is just
within his mandate. We want to see judges and magistrates concentrate on
their work.”
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