This archive report was first published on 9 June 2020.
Kenya's Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki has defended President Uhuru Kenyatta against allegations of frustrating the courts, particularly over the appointment of 41 judges.
On June 8, 2020, Chief Justice David Maraga accused the President of having an unresponsive attitude, which he claimed was meant to frustrate the courts. Maraga stated that the President's disregard of court orders was part of a pattern by the Executive.
However, in a press statement, the AG argued that the President does not have to rubberstamp all the nominees of the Judicial Service Commission without questioning their integrity. He claimed that there is an underlying misunderstanding of the legal role of the President in the appointment of judges versus the recommendations of the JSC.
The AG noted that the President demonstrated his respect for the law by questioning the credibility of some of the nominees. He also absolved the President of blame in the backlog of cases in the Judiciary, faulting Chief Justice Maraga for laxity in prosecuting corruption cases.
Maraga had accused the President of disobeying court orders and illegally evicting over 1,000 families in Kariobangi, Nairobi. The AG branded this as an unsubstantiated allegation.
Regarding pending bills, the AG claimed that the government had paid Sh1.5 billion since July 2019 towards compensation for accident victims with paraplegic injuries. He argued that the Executive had to scrutinise the claims to avoid losing money in dubious ways.
