Maraga dismisses Uhuru’s Executive Order restructuring the Judiciary

Chief Justice David Maraga has dismissed the Executive Order issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 11, saying the Judiciary cannot be subject to it.

In his statement on June 4, CJ Maraga said the order titled, ‘The Organization of Government’ cannot affect the Judiciary or the Judicial Service Commission.

“The Judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission are established under Chapter 10 of the Constitution. The order cannot ‘restructure’ or ‘assign’ functions to the other co-equal and co-substantial arms of government and independent commissions,” said CJ Maraga.

Seeing President Kenyatta made the order to ‘direct and co-ordinate the functions of ministries and government departments’, CJ Maraga said the Judiciary is neither a ministry nor a government department to be ‘organised’ by an Executive Order.

Mr. Maraga reinstated the independence of the Judiciary enshrined in Articles 171-178 of the constitution. He said it must have been an error.

“I want to believe that this was an inadvertent error and that the office of the President will promptly issue a correction,” he said.

Consequently, Mr Maraga demanded a clarification on the institutional independence in the official government publications.