- She said judges are human and feel hurt when their names are dragged and publicly condemned as corrupt especially where no evidence has been presented.
- Koome said they would honour the appointment should the President grant their request.
Image: DOUGLAS OKIDDY
Chief Justice Martha Koome has said the Judiciary has written to President William Ruto seeking an audience with the view to establishing the genesis of his complaints against the Judiciary.
Whilst confirming that the President has not filed any complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the CJ said the Judiciary is ready to interrogate the concerns the President has with the system some of whose officers he has publicly claimed are corrupt.
“He might have received information because we have various machinery and agencies for collecting information and we would like to engage him so that he can give us that information.
“So we will be looking out for that dialogue, we have written and I believe that the President is going to give us an appointment,” Koome said in a press conference on Monday.
She said judges are human and feel hurt when their names are dragged and publicly condemned as corrupt especially where no evidence has been presented.
Koome said they would honour the appointment should the President grant their request, noting that the government cannot function alone without the Judiciary and the Legislature.
“We are also part of the government and we are concerned that there are issues that are hurting the Executive so we need to know them so that we deal with them.”
Meanwhile, the CJ warned against the defiance of court orders as she outlined strategies the Judiciary has adopted to safeguard the fidelity of the Constitution amid the corruption claims.
Koome said a declaration by the State that it will not obey court orders on grounds that some judges are compromised to pass verdicts is a monumental assault on the Constitution and an assault on the rule of law and can lead to chaos and anarchy.
“And if this course is allowed to continue unabated, we are on the precipice of a constitutional crisis that can lead to untold civil strife."
Koome said the Judiciary is cognizant of the fact that corruption involving people in the Judiciary is alive and that is why the JSC was established to deal with such cases.
She confirmed that three judges were dismissed in 2023 for misconduct and the JSC is currently investigating 49 petitions related to misconduct of some judges and judicial officers but said the named judicial officers deserve a fair hearing.
“So I would urge our politicians to stop discussing live matters in public to allow the Judges and judicial officers to engage with the matter objectively and deal with those matters according to the evidence and according to the law and if somebody is dissatisfied, to follow the appeal mechanism,” Koome said.