Embattled lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has defended the Judiciary, headed by Chief Justice Martha Koome, against an onslaught aimed at slashing its funding.
Two lawmakers among them the National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah on Sunday asked President William Ruto to consider slashing the Judiciary's budget for ruling against his legacy Housing Levy project.
Ichung'wah, while speaking in Meru on Friday, claimed that the ruling terming the housing levy unconstitutional was affecting delivery for both the Executive led by President William Ruto and the Legislature for which he is a member.
"What we have seen has nothing to do with the independence of the Judiciary. This is Judicial overreach," he told the gathering.
"I want to plead with you, Your Excellency, don't allow your government to be sabotaged or undermined by cartels and masters of State capture, either through the Judiciary or even in the Legislature."
His sentiments were backed by Mogotio MP Reuben Kiborek who argued that he would champion for the slashing of the courts' budget.
"In Parliament, we were given the power to make the budget and chair of the budget committee, I pray that as we create the upcoming budget... We should slash all their budget so they should know that lives of the sick are valuable," Kiborek stated.
Responding directly to Kiborek's clip, Ahmednasir argued that slashing Judiciary's budget would amount to a bad move for the Executive and the Legislature.
In fact, he argued that the Judiciary should be given more money to handle its affairs.
"Cutting the Judiciary budget is the wrong move. In fact, the Judiciary needs more money and resources. But we need a Judiciary that doesn't waste the meagre resources on bonding trips to Watamu, as does the Supreme Court of Kenya. We also need reformist leadership for the Judiciary, too," he stated.
Other Kenyans also agreed with his view arguing slashing the budget would only delay access to justice by regular citizens.
"It's wild that a people's representative wants to work against the people who put him there by delaying & hindering their access to justice," observed Mihr Thakar.
"This isn’t just overreach; it’s a dangerous precedent. The Kenyan Judiciary needs more resources, yes, but with strict accountability. These ideas are unacceptable, unlawful, and unconstitutional. The Judiciary needs to be both well-funded and led by reformists committed to efficiency and integrity," explained George Njoroge.
On Friday, the Head of State suffered a double blow, as we broke it down in our Evening Brief Newsletter, when the courts pronounced themselves on the contentious Housing Levy and police deployment to Haiti.
The Court of Appeal directed the State to halt the collection of salary deductions which are aimed at constructing affordable houses across the country.
The same court also blocked the planned deployment of 1,000 police officers to Haiti.
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