Maraga: Pray for My Successor, It's Not Easy

Chief Justice David Maraga getting out of his car
Former Chief Justice David Maraga steps out of his car in a private event in 2019
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Chief Justice David Maraga announced that he would be proceeding on terminal leave on Friday, December 11, pending his retirement and subsequent handing over to his successor.

Maraga spoke in his hometown of Nyamira where he reopened Manga Law courts. He said his tenure had been difficult and asked Kenyans to pray for his successor, who according to him, would face a lot of challenges in the office.

The CJ lamented that he was leaving office at a time the judiciary was enduring massive problems, mainly caused by an executive he described as being determined to cripple the institution by denying it funds to run its operations.

"I am retiring a happy man and Friday will be my last day in office. But what I want you to do is to start praying for whoever will be appointed CJ after me, because this work is a difficult one. In fact, you should start praying for my successor even now.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Chief Justice David Maraga
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Chief Justice David Maraga
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"I want to tell the government that the budget the judiciary was seeking was not Maraga's money but for services for the people of Kenya," he stated.

Maraga added that courts are gifts from God to dispense justice and therefore, those who could be compromised to give wrong judgments could be punished because of working against the almighty.

The CJ hit out at MPs for failing to enact enabling legislation to ensure proper funding of the Judiciary. Maraga lamented that Parliament did not address the challenge of funding that has slowed development in the Judiciary.

"Someone says Maraga wants money for what? For my personal use? No! We want to build courts for Kenyans. The MPs are always in my office asking me to open courts in their areas. I am telling you if they passed between Ksh 5 billion and Ksh10 billion for the development of the Judiciary, then all areas would have courts whose beneficiaries would be Kenyans."

With a serious backlog of cases heaped in the Judiciary, the CJ argued that the country lacks enough judges and magistrates to dispense instantaneous justice. However, he avered that he had survived all challenges despite not achieving all his set targets. 

Maraga has been lauded as a conservative judge, who has strictly adhered to the law. He will be remembered for some landmark rulings at the Supreme Court, including recommending for the dissolution of the National Assembly and annulling President Uhuru Kenyatta's victory in the 2017 General Elections. 

His decision angered Kenyatta whose relationship with the Judiciary has deteriorated in the past two years.

Maraga has complained of being frustrated by President Kenyatta's administration, particularly in declining to appoint 41 judges as ordered by the courts

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Chief Justice David Maraga addresses a gathering in Nyamira County in December 2020
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