NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 9 – President William Ruto has maintained the narrative that he has resisted overtures to use money to seek favorable court rulings compared to his predecessors.
During the commissioning of various affordable housing projects, President Ruto insisted he will not be cowed into using taxpayers funds to bribe judges to get favorable judicial outcomes.
“They are people telling me that because the other government budget funds to corrupt judges that I also create a budget to bribe judges in court. Would you like me to use your money to bribe judges? I will not allow it,” the President said.
Instead, the Head of State promised a ruthless war on corrupt judges assuring that the government will expose them.
“The Judiciary are civil servants of the Republic of Kenya and because the litigants are boasting that they have money to bribe the judges. I have been given mandate by Kenyans and I am their lawyer to ensure that all hustlers get employment opportunities,” President Ruto stated.
President Ruto decried that saboteurs have derailed development projects in the country affirming that he will not cowed into cutting the measure to enable the implementation of the Kenya Kwanza Regime manifesto.
“They have had a failed for far too long and we will not allow them to have a field day. We will deal with them by ensuring that Kenya moves forward,” he stated.
President Ruto has dominated the headlines since last week when he declared his intent to disregard court-issued stay orders and push ahead with critical projects such as Affordable Housing and the Social Health Insurance Act which form part of his legacy.
His stance elicited strong reactions from the opposition and the Law Society of Kenya, which cautioned against what they perceive as a disregard for the constitution and the risk of veering into dictatorship.
Last week, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah threw down the gauntlet, daring President William Ruto to substantiate his claims of judicial bribery in cases related to the Affordable Housing Levy and the Social Insurance Fund.
Omtatah, who is himself a litigant in one of these cases, denies any involvement in bribery, asserting that he had no knowledge of any fellow litigants who had either bribed or attempted to bribe a judge or any judicial officer for a favourable ruling.
While acknowledging the President’s right, like any other citizen, to be heard and protest, Omtatah challenged him to utilize his access to intelligence resources to unearth instances of corruption within the judiciary.
“Directly, I challenge him to provide concrete evidence of any judge taking bribes or any litigant offering bribes. Let the truth come to light,” Omtatah declared Friday in a press conference amid outrage directed at the Head of State from the Opposition and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) which have warned he risks becoming a tyrant.
Omtatah, a fiery activist who has often been at odds with the Kenya Kwanza Alliance administration, insinuated that the President’s allegations were “grave and posed a threat to judicial independence.”
Casting doubt on Ruto’s claims of judicial corruption, Omtatah suggested that the allegations were a strategic maneuver to intimidate the judiciary into favouring the President’s pet projects.
