Chief Justice David Maraga has criticised some proposals made to the BBI team saying it a scheme to capture and firmly place the Judiciary under the Executive.
Some of the suggestions he is opposed to include the plan to give the President a say in the appointment of a judge by sneaking in a provision to compel the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to forward three names to him to pick one.
This gives room to the President to reject judges who are appointed by the JSC and puts pressure on the commission to submit names of people who might not meet the threshold just to fulfil the requirement of sending three names from which the head of state can pick one.
“By opening a window for the President even in a small way to decide which nominees to appoint and which ones to reject would be a relapse to the old system, which was overwhelmingly discarded by Kenyans in a plebiscite,” he said in a statement.
“It would open the window for the reintroduction of manipulation and horse-trading in the process of appointment of judges."
Also challenged is suggestion that any case challenging constitutionality of Acts of Parliament should only be handled by the apex court sidestepping both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi in his submission to the BBI proposed limitations to exercise judicial authority, saying questions on acts of commission or omission by the head of state should be determined by the National Assembly.
Secondly, the court should be stopped from exercising supervisory jurisdiction over decisions of Parliament or county assemblies to remove from office by impeachment any public officer.
He also had proposed that judicial injunction powers should not at all apply to proceedings of Parliament and county assemblies.
But Maraga said, “Kenyans need to seriously reflect on the pressure and preponderance of the other arms of government over the Judiciary. It is clear to any keen observer that the subscript of these proposals is to control the Judiciary.” .
He said if the proposed changes are implemented, there will be no independent Judiciary and by extension no democracy.
Edited by A.N
