This archive report was first published on 4 November 2019.
On November 4, 2019, Chief Justice David Maraga publicly expressed his frustration with the Executive arm of government, led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, in a televised address to the nation.
Maraga revealed an alleged secret plot by the Executive to remove him from office before December 31, stating that some Cabinet Secretaries had expressed their intention to see him go.
“Some CSs (Cabinet secretaries) are saying I will go before the year ends, kumbe hii Kenya ina wenyewe (apparently Kenya has real owners)?” Judge Maraga said, visibly angry.
He also accused the National Treasury of unfairly targeting courts in its austerity measures, pointing out that while the Judiciary budget has been shrinking since 2014, the workload has been increasing.
Maraga noted that this year, the Judiciary received a paltry 0.69 percent of the national budget, and issued an order to the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary to take the Judiciary budget estimates directly to Parliament, rather than the Treasury.
“Moving forward, Judiciary budget estimates will be taken to Parliament and not Treasury. We cannot continue begging for what belongs to us,” he said.
