Finally, Kenyans have their new President in the person of William Ruto who won the 2022 general elections held in the month of August.
William Ruto wasted no time as he started his reign as Kenya’s President by appointing six (6) judges his predecessor, outgone President Uhuru Kenyatta rejected.
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While giving his first public speech the nation’s newly installed President, Ruto vowed to end a three-year impulse between the Judiciary and the Executive.
The President signed two gazette notices appointing Weldon Korir, Aggrey Muchelule, George Odunga and Prof Joel Ngugi to the Court of Appeal, soon after his swearing-in ceremony.
High Court registrar Elizabeth Omange and chief magistrate Evans Makori as Environment and Lands Court judges were also appointed.
The two were on the list that retired President Uhuru Kenyatta declined to appoint as judges.
“To further demonstrate my commitment to the Judiciary, this afternoon I will appoint the six judges already nominated to the court of appeal, which was done three years ago by the Judicial Service Commission, and tomorrow I shall preside their swearing-in so that they can get on with their business of serving the people of Kenya,” said the President in his speech at the Kasarani Stadium.
According to Kenyatta, he turned the 6 judges’ nominations down “for failing to meet the required threshold”.
The ex-President insisted that he would not be coerced to make the appointments after several court orders, a case to have him impeached and another to bypass him and have Chief Justice Martha Koome swear the six.
Dr Ruto vowed to increase funding for the Judiciary to at least Sh90 billion in the next five years as part of the new changes he’s bringing in.
After years of fighting to have 25 per cent of the Sh3.3 trillion budget, the Judiciary, by July 1, was to get at least Sh75 billion.
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Chief Justice Martha Koome’s predecessor, David Maraga, had been battling to get at least Sh75 billion, which is 25 per cent of the budget. He even proposed that the funding be gradual.
“Even though the Judiciary is an arm of government, it is not demanding much. Out of a budget of about Sh3 trillion, give us just 2.5 per cent and we will dispose of cases within two years of their filing. Give us a development vote of about Sh5 billion a year and we will construct courts all over the country in 10 years,” said the former CJ.
But Justice Maraga got Sh47 billion for the three years he served. To construct the courts in 47 counties, he got Sh50 million.