The secretary general of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party, Cleophas Malala has come out to defend President William Ruto over his recent onslaught against the judiciary.
Malala said on Thursday that the head of state has every right to express dissatisfaction with the judiciary, adding that he was glad Ruto had sparked a conversation about corruption in courts.
“The former CJ Maraga said that the issue of corruption in the judiciary is a matter that needs to be addressed. Severally we’ve heard CJ Martha Koome addressing the same issue. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta called out the judiciary and complained about certain decisions of the court. The leader of the opposition Raila Odinga has been at the forefront of castigating the judiciary,” Malala said in an interview with Spice FM.
“What is wrong with the president, who has been mandated by Kenyans through article one, through a competitive election just saying he is dissatisfied with certain orders of the court that are inhibiting development?”
He said that there are people whom he referred to as economic saboteurs who obtain orders from the court that hinder government development projects.
According to Malala, there are certain ‘sensitive’ government projects that the court cannot stop like suspending the Finance Act.
“All matters should go before the court but the judiciary should be sensitive on matters that benefit Kenyans,” commented Malala.
He said President Ruto respects the rule of law and that all he has been saying is that if there are rogue officials in the judiciary, they should be called out.
Ruto has in recent days mounted a war against the judicial arm of government, accusing it of sabotaging his government’s agenda. He has even vowed to disregard court orders he says are motivated by ‘judicial impunity’.
Among the court orders which have sparked anger from President Ruto are the halting of a new social health scheme, a housing levy, the privatisation of 11 government parastatals, the rollout of the Maisha Namba project and the privatisation of the Mombasa and Lamu ports among other projects that the Kenya Kwanza government intends to implement.
