Meria
Elder Lister
Dr David Kariuki Ngari (Gakuyo)
The country cannot be held hostage by Maraga’s interest and the interests of a few of his friends that he is trying to help.
The judiciary needs magistrates more than judges.
The Chief Justice is just out to help his friends before his time runs out, he wants to push this new judges in office before he exits the stage.
The 41 judges are his friends and also friends to some of the members who sit in the JSC.
Today our Chief Justice was so economical with the truth, Maraga is the head of judiciary but doesn’t even know what is happening in the courts.
Our chief Justice David Maraga wants to tell us that he doesn’t know the President’s hands are tied when it comes to swearing in and gazetting the 41 judges nominated by JSC for appointment as judges of Appeal, Lands and Employment courts.
The truth is that there are active petitions in court stopping the President from gazetting the 41 judges, eg Petition 427 of 2019 Oct- David Kariuki Ngari (Gakuyo) and Another vs. Judicial Service Commission & others.
The president cannot swear or gazette the 41 judges before the matter has been heard and determined, so why blame the President on that?
Maraga is also to blame for the backlog in the judiciary, the chief Justice has completely messed up the operations in the Judiciary.
The judiciary needs magistrates more than judges.
A few wrong moves the Chief Justice made around 2016/2017.
In 2016 Maraga issued a notice affecting environment and lands court, a court at the same level with the high court. This court listens to environmental and land disputes, one of the busiest courts.
Notice; All land cases that don’t go beyond 20 million should go back to magistrate courts and should not be listened at the environment and lands court.
The CJ ignored the fact that 90% of land cases in Kenya are below 20million and that would flood magistrate courts and create a backlog
Again In 2017 Maraga issued a notice affecting the Employment and labour relations court, also a court at the same level with the high court, this court listens to employment disputes.
Notice; All employment cases where salary is less than 80,000sh should go back to magistrate courts and should not be listened at employment and labour relations court.
The CJ intentionally ignored the fact that about 90% of Kenya’s population get a salary of less than 80,000sh a month, employment and labour relations cases in Kenya are dominated with cases which salaries go below 80,000sh and that has flooded the magistrate courts with cases which have created a huge backlog.
To say the truth, Chief Justice Maraga is lying to the public.
What the judiciary needs today to clear the backlogs are magistrates not Judges.
Who has the power to appoint magistrates? Chief Justice David Maraga and the JSC.
We are all alive to the fact that during this time of a pandemic accessing government services has been a big challenge, all arms of government have been put in a very awkward position where all business and operations are conducted online including court sittings.
But our Judiciary has the worst system of case filing, lawyers are complaining everyday but that is not a concern to the Chief Justice.
It would be irresponsible and contrary to the oath of office for the President to appoint judges, or indeed any other public or State officers to office, where serious questions have been raised about their integrity, more so judges who enjoy security of tenure and whose probity and integrity should be above reproach.
It is in public domain that the President had received adverse reports in respect to some of the persons recommended for appointments as judges after the names were fronted to him.
The judicial Service Commission ought to have considered the information while arriving at its recommendations.
The country cannot be held hostage by Maraga’s interest and the interests of a few of his friends that he is trying to help.
The judiciary needs magistrates more than judges.
The Chief Justice is just out to help his friends before his time runs out, he wants to push this new judges in office before he exits the stage.
The 41 judges are his friends and also friends to some of the members who sit in the JSC.
Today our Chief Justice was so economical with the truth, Maraga is the head of judiciary but doesn’t even know what is happening in the courts.
Our chief Justice David Maraga wants to tell us that he doesn’t know the President’s hands are tied when it comes to swearing in and gazetting the 41 judges nominated by JSC for appointment as judges of Appeal, Lands and Employment courts.
The truth is that there are active petitions in court stopping the President from gazetting the 41 judges, eg Petition 427 of 2019 Oct- David Kariuki Ngari (Gakuyo) and Another vs. Judicial Service Commission & others.
The president cannot swear or gazette the 41 judges before the matter has been heard and determined, so why blame the President on that?
Maraga is also to blame for the backlog in the judiciary, the chief Justice has completely messed up the operations in the Judiciary.
The judiciary needs magistrates more than judges.
A few wrong moves the Chief Justice made around 2016/2017.
In 2016 Maraga issued a notice affecting environment and lands court, a court at the same level with the high court. This court listens to environmental and land disputes, one of the busiest courts.
Notice; All land cases that don’t go beyond 20 million should go back to magistrate courts and should not be listened at the environment and lands court.
The CJ ignored the fact that 90% of land cases in Kenya are below 20million and that would flood magistrate courts and create a backlog
Again In 2017 Maraga issued a notice affecting the Employment and labour relations court, also a court at the same level with the high court, this court listens to employment disputes.
Notice; All employment cases where salary is less than 80,000sh should go back to magistrate courts and should not be listened at employment and labour relations court.
The CJ intentionally ignored the fact that about 90% of Kenya’s population get a salary of less than 80,000sh a month, employment and labour relations cases in Kenya are dominated with cases which salaries go below 80,000sh and that has flooded the magistrate courts with cases which have created a huge backlog.
To say the truth, Chief Justice Maraga is lying to the public.
What the judiciary needs today to clear the backlogs are magistrates not Judges.
Who has the power to appoint magistrates? Chief Justice David Maraga and the JSC.
We are all alive to the fact that during this time of a pandemic accessing government services has been a big challenge, all arms of government have been put in a very awkward position where all business and operations are conducted online including court sittings.
But our Judiciary has the worst system of case filing, lawyers are complaining everyday but that is not a concern to the Chief Justice.
It would be irresponsible and contrary to the oath of office for the President to appoint judges, or indeed any other public or State officers to office, where serious questions have been raised about their integrity, more so judges who enjoy security of tenure and whose probity and integrity should be above reproach.
It is in public domain that the President had received adverse reports in respect to some of the persons recommended for appointments as judges after the names were fronted to him.
The judicial Service Commission ought to have considered the information while arriving at its recommendations.
