MP heeds entreaties, won’t pursue Maraga ouster ‘for now’

In a tweet, the MP said he would not pursue his bid to have CJ Maraga removed from office on account of the “political environment”/CFM

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 15 –  Nyeri Town Member of Parliament Ngunjiri Wambugu on Friday said he would not be pursuing his bid to have Chief Justice David Maraga removed from office.

Barely 24 hours after he petitioned the Judicial Service Commission for Maraga’s removal, Wambugu said he would not be pursuing the course of action “for now.”

“I stand by the grievances in the Maraga petition but due to the current political environment I will not pursue it.”

Wambugu tweeted the above message just minutes after President Uhuru Kenyatta entreated him to let the matter go for the time being.

At a meeting with Central Kenya leaders, President Kenyatta said the party as a whole should first focus their energies on securing re-election.

“I understand your pain and action. But we have an election to win on October 17. That has to be our focus. Leave the court alone,” the President is reported to have told him.

Wambugu set the process for Maraga’s removal in motion on Thursday when he petitioned the Judicial Service Commission on the grounds that the nullification of President Kenyatta’s August 8 was equal to a judicial coup.

He claims the decision was influenced by the same Civil Society groups who were opposed to President Kenyatta’s 2013 election and who he claims engineered the International Criminal Court cases they stared down.

Immediately news of Wambugu’s petition broke however, the ruling party distanced itself from it; keen to make clear that it was an individual action.

This despite the reality that President Kenyatta has himself led the charge on disparaging the judiciary; referring the Supreme Court judges as crooks for invalidating his August 8 win.

I stand by the grievances in the #MaragaPetition but due to the current political environment I will not pursue it, for now.

— Simba wa Nyeri (@ngunjiriwambugu) September 15, 2017

About The Author

OLIVE BURROWS

With a decade of storytelling under her belt, Olive Burrows has been with Capital FM for the last four years and perhaps most notably interviewed US President Barack Obama. Committed to asking the hard questions and telling the story in the most engaging way possible, she has also interviewed Melinda Gates, a UK Minister and severally had the opportunity to sit across from President Uhuru Kenyatta and address the pressing issues of the day. Other notables she has had occasion to seek answers from are UN Secretary General António Guterres and John Kerry in his time as US Secretary of State.

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