Jubilee Party Secretary-General, Raphael Tuju, on Wednesday wrote an open letter to Chief Justice (CJ) David Maraga accusing the Judiciary of bias in favour of National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition.
In the strongly-worded letter, Tuju disclosed that Jubilee had been constantly facing frustrations from the Judiciary particularly from the head and Supreme Court of Kenya President, CJ Maraga.
“We were in the middle of an election cycle and we decided to let things cool down and grant the Judiciary space despite the several cases of which were perceived as open bias,” the letter read in part.
[caption caption="Raphael Tuju"]
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President Uhuru Kenyatta had promised the Judiciary that he would "revisit" its conduct after nullification of the August 2017 elections.
Tuju, who was nominated to the cabinet, accused the Judiciary of questionable behaviour indicating: "It was recently revealed that Justice Odunga is related to Siaya Senator James Orengo yet the judge had presided over numerous cases where Orengo is retained as the advocate."
Besides, the CS nominee pointed out eight instances of what he termed as "incidences of open bias by the judiciary" including the urgency with which cases by veteran human right activist Okiya Omtata were treated by the Judiciary.
He further accused the Judiciary of offering anticipatory bail to NASA affiliates following a crackdown that targeted participants in Raila Odinga's swearing-in ceremony.
Earlier in February, Interior CS Fred Matiang'i complained about being frustrated by the Judiciary and accused it of bias.
According to CS Matiang'i, the actions of the legal arm of the government had made its credibility questionable, a stand that CS Tuju seemed to agree with.
[caption caption="CJ David Maraga"]
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While expressing his respect for CJ Maraga and the Judiciary as an institution, Tuju concluded the letter by asking the CJ to uphold the independence of the Judiciary and lead the way for a transparent and reliable department.
