Furious Maraga rants over ‘mistreatment’ by the government
Chief Justice David Maraga has threatened not to attend some state functions unless the government starts treating him and the Judiciary with respect.
Speaking to journalists on Monday at the Supreme Court, Maraga documented mistreatment and humiliation he and the Judiciary have been subjected to by other arms of the government.
He claims all these are part of ‘a plot to make Judiciary a puppet’.
ILL TREATMENT
“The CJ is not accorded the respect accorded to his office. Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries are cleared to enter in places before the Chief Justice. Unless I’m treated with the respect I deserve, I will choose state functions to attend,” Maraga said.
Maraga also said he is treated better in other countries than here at home.
He gave an example of Mashujaa Day celebrations where he walked to the dais without being recognized.
“I walked to the dais through a side walk and the emcee did not acknowledge my arrival, but he did for other people,” he said.
Maraga also revisited the issue of the 232 top-of-the-range vehicles which the Judiciary intends to buy at a cost Sh11 million each.
BUDGET CUT
“The CJ has no Mercedes car, we were told its wastage yet the two Speakers of the National Assembly have them. I have a Mercedes 350, which is affordable to many while Speakers of both Houses have Mercedes 500. I have never owned a Mercedes myself and I’m not bothered. Let the office be treated like the Speaker’ and Uhuru’s office. We should not be taken to be like illegitimate children,” he went on.
Maraga now wants the Judiciary estimates to be taken to parliament then the funds deposited direct in the Judiciary fund account as by the law.
Maraga instructed the Chief Registrar not to take budget estimates to the Treasury from 2020.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani had last month issued a directive proposing drastic budgetary cuts on recurring and development budget of up to 50 per cent in the Judiciary.
But the directive was stopped by the High Court after the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) sued the National Treasury and the Attorney General over the budget cuts.
The High Court asked the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to provide a report on how the cost-cutting has affected the dispensation of justice so far.