Judiciary is to blame for its woes - Nelson Havi

Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi has said that the Judiciary is to blame for its tribulations.

Speaking on Sunday, Havi blamed judges for stopping a number of directives including; dissolution of parliament and the suspension of Attorney General Paul Kihara and Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto for misadvising the president on the appointment of Judges.

"A judge suspended CJ Maraga’s advisory on the dissolution of Parliament. Another stopped the LSK election of JSC rep. Let them fight to the death," Havi tweeted.

In June 2020, the LSK council expelled Kihara and Ogeto for allegedly misadvising the president on the gazettement of the 41 judges whose names had been forwarded to him by the JSC.

Justice John Mativo later issued orders stopping the expulsion of Kihara and Ogeto.

The LSK president's remarks come after Chief Justice Martha Koome in a statement, called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to appoint the remaining six judges, after 34 gazetted judges took oath of office.

Koome reiterated that the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed under the Constitution and person or authority is allowed to direct the JSC in the execution of their mandate.

"The Judiciary is still in dire need as the backlog of cases is increasing. We should find a lasting solution so that moving forward, this kind of delay and misunderstanding will be a thing of the past," Koome said.

The 34 judges who will serve in the Court of Appeal, ELC, and ELRC courts took their oath of office on Friday, in an event presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House Nairobi.

According to the president, the six judges whose names he rejected have integrity issues which had been detailed by the National Intelligence Service and other security agencies.