You Have Failed To Tame Ruto- Parliament Told

It is now emerging that the Legislature, one of the three arms of the Kenyan government, has failed to perform its constitutional mandate by keeping the Executive in check, a matter which would have prevented President William Ruto from relentlessly criticising the Judiciary as has been the case recently.

Esther Nyonje, a political risk analyst, on Monday, January 29 gave her thoughts on the Executive-Judiciary row in a Newsgang-esque style where she tore apart President Ruto over his vow to bypass court orders and push forward his development projects.

Amidst talk of the Ruto regime bearing similarities to that of the late Kenya's second president, Daniel Arap Moi, Nyonje accused the Head of State of doublespeak in differing with the Judiciary, the same one he praised when his victory in the 2022 presidential elections was deemed valid by the Supreme Court.

"The same Judiciary upheld President William Ruto's victory in 2022 at the Supreme Court in broad daylight.

Esther Nyonje during an interview on March 27, 2023. /KBC

"When the Judiciary is on your side, 'oh hail the Judiciary' and when it's not, look at the conversation we are having today," she stated in a video uploaded on her YouTube channel.

Nyonje referred to National Assembly Deputy Speaker, Gladys Shollei who earlier in January promised to line up the Judiciary on the same page with the Executive.

At the time, she vowed to Ruto that "I will not tell you what we'll do with them, but we shall deal with the ignorance of the Judiciary. I have never failed you, and I will not fail you on this one. So take heart that it shall be done, and your policies shall pass."

Despite deviating from stating who is right or wrong between the two sides, she cited provisions of the 2010 Constitution in which both Parliament and the Judiciary are meant to act as horizontal constitutional checks on the power of the Executive.

"The 2010 Constitution clearly stipulates the balance of power between the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature, and this is necessary, especially in an African context where an authoritarian or imperial presidency is the norm.

"Remember Parliament is also under allegation that it has failed to perform its constitutionally mandated role of keeping the Executive power in check," she added.

She then poked holes in the meeting between President Ruto and Chief Justice Martha Koome alongside representatives from the three arms of government at State House where CJ Koome committed to enhancing service delivery, fighting corruption and promoting the overall administration of justice to enhance accountability to the people of Kenya.

"When the President and the Chief Justice met alongside some leaders of the Executive and the Legislature, the highlight of that meeting was that the Chief Justice vowed to protect the constitutional principle that guarantees the independence of the Judiciary.

"The question therefore to ask is, was the Judiciary birthed yesterday? The protection, was it not ongoing? What was the purpose of that meeting anyway? In the words of James Bob Aggrey Orengo, 'this has never happened before' that Martha Koome should learn from her predecessors Justice Mutunga and Maraga," she continued.

Nyonje warned that the current crop of political leaders risked passing their murky behaviour inclusive of attacks against the Judiciary to future generations, sending a message to the political and government leaders that 'the buck stops with you'.

"Are we passing the political bad manners that we have held over all these years or are we reviewing the political ethic and leadership that we should pass to our children?

"Institutions should take their insightful role into accountability because the citizens have made the choice, they are watching and they are woke," she concluded.

President Ruto hosts CJ Martha Koome and the leadership of the Legislature led by National Assembly speaker Moses Wetangula at State House, Nairobi on January 22, 2024. /PCS