- The president and his allies accuse the judiciary of having corrupt officials working with cartels to frustrate the government's projects with petitions.
- The LSK, during the peaceful protests, said they were doing it in solidarity with the Judiciary.
Image: FILE
Former Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi now says that the current leadership should stop the protests against President William Ruto and allies over their recent attacks on the judiciary.
In a statement on Thursday, Havi said they should instead ensure that corruption by some members of the Judiciary is dealt with.
"LSK should advocate for accountability of Judges and Magistrates. Independence of the Judiciary is entrenched and has been fortified by the many decisions we have secured in the last 10 years," he said.
The former LSK boss cited instances where LSK commissioned legal proceedings against senior state officials during his time after the then administration refused to fulfil constitutional requirements.
"When Uhuru Kenyatta refused to swear in 41 Judges, we commenced disbarment of his AG and SG. When he refused to dissolve Parliament, we went there and occupied it. Our successors in LSK should stop this daily protest and deal firmly with corruption," Havi said.
On Friday last week, the LSK led protests against the President and his allies in cities and major towns.
The president and his allies claimed some judicial officers have been working in cahoots with unscrupulous people to frustrate the government's development projects.
The LSK, during the peaceful protests, said they were doing it in solidarity with the Judiciary.
"We call upon all members to don purple ribbons throughout the coming week and join in the peaceful protests countrywide that will be organised by the society in support of the rule of law and solidarity with the Judiciary," LSK president Eric Theuri said.
"We must not allow our Constitution to suffer dereliction."
Theuri said that the same Judiciary Ruto was 'attacking' has both nullified a prior presidential election and, at another juncture, upheld his very own election.
While President Ruto has agreed to hold talks with the Judiciary and the Legislature, following a request by the Judicial Service Commission, the LSK is strongly opposed to the talks.
Speaking in Mombasa on Wednesday, Theuri said the Chief Justice submitting to discussions with the Executive will amount to deal-making and this offends the constitutional checks and balances.
"I joined the Mombasa Law Society leadership and Advocates in adding our voice in support of judicial independence. We urged the Chief Justice to keep off any dialogue with the Executive," the LSK boss said on X.
"The whole country will judge the CJ harshly if she submits to any dialogue."
Earlier, CJ Martha Koome revealed that the Judiciary had written to Ruto seeking an audience with the view to establishing the genesis of his complaints against the arm.
Whilst confirming that the President has not filed any complaint with the JSC, the CJ said the Judiciary is ready to interrogate the concerns the President has with the system.