Chief Justice Maraga blasts President Uhuru over appointment

dennis kibet

April 11, 2017 10:20 AM

President Kenyatta asked the Kisii community to re-elect him saying he had given 'their son' a powerful job.

President Uhuru Kenyatta chats with Chief Justice David Maraga after the swearing-in of new judges of the High Court at State House, Nairobi.

Chief Justice David Maraga has told off President Uhuru Kenyatta over his appointment as Kenya’s head of Judiciary.

During a visit to Kisii and Nyamira Counties last month, in an effort to appeal and woo the Kisii voters, President Kenyatta asked the community to re-elect him come August while saying that the Jubilee administration had given CJ Maraga 'their son' a powerful job.

Following a meeting between the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and CJ Maraga, the head of the judiciary sent out a strong worded statement CJ saying the JSC determined the outcome by making the required recommendation to the president in line with the constitution.

Political appointment?

He termed his appointment as not political.

"I have restrained myself from responding to these false statements so as not to give them undue prominence or credence. However, they continue to be claimed and peddled around as if they are the truth, and in total disregard of their corrosive effect on the perception of the independence of the Judiciary," said Maraga.

The JSC itself said reports that President Kenyatta appointed him for political reasons were erroneous and also misleading to the public.

A statement from the JSC by their Secretary Ann Amadi said "JSC has had the opportunity to review and evaluate the statement by the Head of State and takes the view that the remarks during the said political meeting could, and had in fact, been misconstrued to imply a political hand in the appointment of the Chief Justice. This is unfortunate, erroneous and substantially misleading."

CJ Maraga replaced Willy Mutunga as Chief Justice in September last year.

dennis kibet