Maraga accuses Executive of impunity in U.K. speech

Chief Justice David Maraga has said the judiciary and other State institutions being subordinated to the Executive has resulted in impunity and authoritarianism.

During a key note speech delivered at the Oxford University, United Kingdom on June 4, where he had been invited to for talks on the quest for constitutionalism in Africa he said:

“…In Kenya, and I believe in many other African States, after independence, what followed in the subsequent decades is that State institutions, including the Judiciary, were subjugated and subordinate to the Executive.”

According to Maraga, Kenyans have lost respect for the constitution and confidence in the political system.

“The December 2007, post – election violence in Kenya, for example, was as a result of the opposition parties’ refusal to challenge the results of the Presidential election on account of their lack of confidence in the Kenyan Judiciary to effectively and impartially resolve electoral disputes…,” he said.

Maraga also pointed out that Kenya has retained some of the laws that were used for colonial oppression even after gaining independence.

He added that the country has also introduced others that supported the State’s excesses making it harder for the judiciary and other State institutions to work independently and efficiently.

He further raised concerns over what he termed as monumental plundering of public resources through corruption and theft.

Interestingly, the Chief Justice noted that his faith in his decision to nullify the 2017 Presidential election.