President Uhuru Kenyatta's former advisor has taken an aim at him after fallout over the appointment of judges.
Joining other disgruntled lawyers on Wednesday, October 24, lawyer Abdikadir Mohammed disputed Uhuru's decision to revoke the appointment of 41 new judges, The Standard reported 0n Thursday, October 24.
The president failed to appoint all the 41 nominees who were fronted by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) headed by David Maraga arguing that some of them were tainted and had integrity issues.
Mohammed claimed that Uhuru's blanket decision was punitive since not all the 41 charges were tainted.
He further added that the state was weakening the Judiciary by slashing its budgets and failing to increase its workforce.
"It couldn’t be that all the 41 nominees have issues. What was hard in taking the adverse information to the JSC? This (citing reasons against the appointment once the JSC has submitted the names) is not provided for. Why all the 41? It’s an attempt to cheapen the independence of the judiciary.
"There is a war on the Judiciary which is not proper. Financial independence and the creation of a JSC to run the affairs of the Judiciary were two issues introduced in the Constitution to protect its independence. These are coming under a lot of strain,” stated Mohammed.
Other lawyers claimed that the president's action was an attack on the independence of the Judicial system since it disrupted JSC's operations.
They further claimed that Uhuru did not have the right to review the names presented by JSC and all he can do is make the appointment or file a complaint with the commission.
“There is a long history of the push back against the JSC and the Judiciary,” added the lawyer explaining that the recent attack was not new.
Mohammed previously served as Uhuru’s advisor on constitutional and legal affairs. In 2018, he made headlines when he declined President Uhuru Kenyatta's appointment as Kenya’s ambassador to South Korea.
“I am afraid I cannot comment on the matter of my nomination suffice to say I am most grateful to His Excellency for the trust he has bestowed on me now and in the past,” The former Mandera Central MP had told The Standard at the time.
