• Raila insisted that there is no need for the Judicial Service Commission to hold talks with Ruto.
• He noted that there is an active case in court that the Executive has appealed and a ruling is set for January 25.
Image: ODM/X
Azimio leader Raila Odinga now says that Chief Justice Martha Koome holding talks with President William Ruto will mark the beginning of the Judiciary getting compromised.
Speaking in Vihiga, Raila insisted that there is no need for the Judicial Service Commission to hold talks with Ruto.
He noted that there is an active case in court that the Executive has appealed and a ruling is set for January 25.
He said that the law also gives room for appeal in case one is not satisfied with the court's decision.
"Chief Justice Martha Koome says she wants to dialogue with Ruto. That will mark the start of compromising. There is no need for the Judiciary to hold talks with Ruto. The law says that if you disagree with a court decision you appeal," Raila said on Tuesday.
The former Prime Minister said Koome already took a position on the matter, and any dialogue efforts would only further compromise the position of the courts.
Raila added that should Koome go on with the talks, she would be compromising the country.
"We want to tell the Chief Justice not to compromise the position of the courts. She already took a position and there is no need for negotiations," Raila said.
"If you want to compromise the judiciary and negotiate with the executive over this kind of dispute, then we are saying you are yourself going to compromise this country."
Raila called on Kenyans to stand firm in protecting the independent institutions created by the Constitution of Kenya.
On Monday, Koome called for talks between the Judicial Service Commission and the President over his recent claims on judicial officers working in cahoots to frustrate his projects.
Koome said the Judiciary has written to President 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.