Orengo faults Ruto over attacks against Judiciary
Siaya Governor James Orengo has joined the list of leaders and the general public calling out President William Ruto for raging attacks against the Judiciary.
In a statement on Wednesday, January 3, 2023, Orengo warned that disobedience of court orders by the President should not be among the options for dealing with dissent.
"This (disobedience) is infamy to our constitutional order. There is always a legal mechanism of overturning judicial decisions obtained by fraud or for cleaning a rogue judiciary. The office of the president has many tools, and disobedience of inconvenient court orders is certainly not one of them. But every citizen, including public officers, have the power to defy illegal orders from their superiors," Orengo stated.
Orengo joins several other leaders who have warned Ruto against executing his threat of disobeying court orders he perceives as coming from corrupt judges.
Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo has warned that, following the declarations, Ruto could rig the 2027 polls and disobey any court orders issued regarding the same.
According to Amollo, Ruto's defiance could have been fueled by Chief Justice Martha Koome's soft stance towards the Kenya Kwanza administration.
"William Ruto is coming out in his true colours! Court orders mean nothing to him. Hope CJ Martha Koome will reconsider the soft approach to this regime, and assert the full authority of courts. If this is not done, he will rig 2027 and disobey Supreme Court orders contrary," Amollo stated.
Former Defence CS and Democratic Action Party Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugine Wamalwa termed Ruto's sentiments as "dangerously reckless" which could amount to disaster for undermining the rule of law.
"If we are to choose which courts to obey & which ones not to obey, to that extent will we be courting disaster by undermining the rule of law, especially by a Regime whose legitimacy hangs on a thread of a decision by the same Courts? Dangerously reckless talk, should Azimio revisit?" Wamalwa cautioned.
Ruto's vow
Speaking on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, Ruto accused some judges of being corrupt and colluding with cartels to sabotage government projects.
"I want to announce here that few people with vested interests who are beneficiaries of corruption in NHIF are now ganging up with corrupt judicial officers to stall reforms so that fake hospitals claims will continue. I want to assure you that this will not happen in Kenya again and we will stop it," he said.
