President Ruto is attempting to capture the Judiciary through bribery, Raila says
The Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition leader Mr Raila Odinga has questioned the speed from the Executive to attend to the issues surrounding the Judiciary.
Speaking in Machakos County during the coalition’s Parliamentary Group meeting, Mr Odinga said that the move by President William Ruto to appoint the six judges is an attempt to capture the Judiciary.
“There is clear proof from the Executive to hold the Judiciary through illegal actions that amount to bribery. That is the reason for the rush to appoint six judges and to allocate money to the Judiciary,” Mr Odinga said.
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He said that financial allocation to institutions and state agencies is done by the Parliament based on scrutiny of budget proposals presented by the institutions.
“In this case, the Executive has given itself that role. It is a plain attempt to capture the Judiciary through bribery,” he said.
According to Mr Odinga, the President’s promise of allocating Sh3 billion to the Judiciary every year will not work since the demands of the independent institution might vary every year.
“How do you say to the Judiciary that I’m going to increase your budget every year by Sh3 billion. How do you know how much the Judiciary requires this year, next year, 10 years from now,” he posed.
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He stated that the Azimio is not opposed to allocation of funds to the Judiciary, but that it should be done through the channels that have been mandated to do so by the Constitution, which should also be based on the request made by the Judiciary.
While reiterating that the Supreme Court did not deliver justice by dismissing their petition that was challenging the win of President Ruto, Mr Odinga said that the court refused to deliver justice to all the institutions.
He said that the court’s move will cost the country, and that they will call for action to save the Judiciary from state capture. Also, the Azimio team will lead a campaign to have the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to be reformed.
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