• The group argues that with courts closing down, people are likely to resort to anarchy.
• They argue Uhuru should have been proactive in raising his objections, if he were genuine
Image: MAGDALINE SAYA
A civil society group has demanded that President Uhuru Kenyatta stops picking fights with the Judiciary as this will sow seeds of anarchy.
The Civil Society Reference Group yesterday demanded that Uhuru should desist from undertakings that undermine the functioning of the Judiciary to spur public confidence in the arm of government.
The misdeeds include the President's failure to appoint the 41 judges recommended by the Judicial Service Commission, where he has adequate representation.
There are also deep budget cuts that have crippled the operations of most courts, the group said.
The lobby said it was absurd for the presidency to raise objection on the integrity of the some of the judges recommended for promotion and appointment, only after concerned citizens complained.
Through its national convener, Suba Churchill, the group accused President Uhuru of not acting in good faith, and of frustrating the Judiciary as part of his promised vendetta in the 2017 presidential election fiasco.
"One would have thought that if indeed the President had issues with any of the individuals and judges recommended for appointment and promotion, the presidency should have been more forthright and raised the concerns instead of sitting on the nominations only to raise issues after a case is filed to question his failure to move the process forward. On this, the President did not act in good faith," he said in a statement.
The refusal by the president to act on latest JSC recommendations is not the first. The President had also refused to appoint Justice Mohammed Warsame as a member of the JSC after his Court of Appeal colleagues elected him to represent them in the powerful body.
Besides the stand off on the appointments, the civil society group also cries foul over the latest move by Treasury to cut the budgets of the judicial arm, citing extreme austerity measures by the government due to cash crunch.
Reports indicate that handling of over 15,000 cases were suspended last week as most courts shut down citing lack of money. Processing of another 10,000 cases in tribunals have also been stopped.
Treasury sliced over Sh3 billion from the arm of the government, with CS Ukur Yatani arguing that he was under pressure to raise money for the big four agenda.