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It is either President’s William Ruto’s way or the highway.

Heavily bruised by the loss of cases touching on his signature projects and strong signals that court decisions could linger on for a while, the President is increasingly determined to not only have his cake but also eat it.

High-profile sources painted the picture of a man who give little attention to advise given to him by members of inner circle, most of whom he considers junior politicians serving at his pleasure.

The major headache with the loss of cases such as the housing levy and aborted police mission to Haiti has huge financial implications for an administration desperately looking cash to finance debt and implement projects at the heart of the Kenya Kwanza development plan.

Another migraine is a Judiciary that has refused to play ball despite various attempts to bully judges with claims that they were being bribed to frustrated his agenda as well as brazen statements by the President that he will disobey court orders, a recipe for anarchy.

Behind the President’s fiat is a group of cheerleaders who loudly encourage him to offend the law by disregarding court decisions.

Though the issues have revolved around public participation, legality and the Constitution, the Head of State has maintained that he will go ahead with the plans.

Arap Moi student

According to Prof Macharia Munene, a political analyst and a lecturer in History and International Relations, President Ruto has depicted himself as a good student of the former President Daniel arap Moi and is trying follow in his footsteps.

“But unlike Moi who was a bit careful and consulted widely, President Ruto neither consults nor listens to his people. He is the kind of person who wants to have everything his way once he has decided on something,” Prof Macharia told People Daily.

Macharia said the recent rulings against the President’s initiatives is a clear manifestation that either the Head of State does not think through his projects before implementing them or he is being misadvised- on the few occasions he cares to listen.

“The most likely scenario is that he is surrounded by individuals who fear telling him the truth because of his combative and bulling nature. His style of leadership is proving to be dictatorial.

He is man determined to push his case at whatever means,” the don said.

In July last year after courts quashed the appointment of 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs), President Ruto maintained that he will work with them.

“I am going to work with all these leaders to steer our country forward. There is nothing lost, let us be patient my friends,” Ruto said during an event in Tana River.

On Saturday, Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang’wah declared that the affordable housing project will continue despite the Court of Appeal ruling, saying Parliament was working on a Bill that seeks to legalise the controversial housing levy.

“No single housing project will be halted as a result of the court ruling. The hustlers working on those projects should continue with their business uninterrupted,” the senator said.

According to Karungo, also the chairperson of Senate Housing Committee, the new law is likely to be passed by both levels of Parliament next week.

“For instance, there are at least 1,200 workers at the Ruiru housing project where 1,050 units are under construction. This has a huge impact on the local economy where besides the jobs, hundreds of locals have found business opportunities,” said the Senator.

But even as President Ruto and his allies vowed to push on with their agenda, Minority Whip Mark Mwenje disclosed that Azimio MPs will vote against the Affordable Housing Bill in Parliament.

Mwenje said the Opposition has resolved to shoot down the bill, which according to the Embakasi West MP, is not only oppressive but also burden to the already over taxed Kenyans.

Speaking in Limuru, Mwenje who was accompanied by several former MPs and Jubilee party officials, told President William Ruto to stop pushing his affordable housing agenda to Kenyans.

Muturi on the spotlight

“We will not rest until this oppressive proposed law is defeated. The courts have pronounced themselves on this. We as the Opposition will play our part of oversighting the government by opposing the taxes imposed by the Kenya Kwanza regime,” Mwenje said.

The recent developments, where the government has lost numerous cases in courts, have also put the office of the Attorney-General Justin Muturi on the spotlight, being the principal advisor to the government.

But interviews with a cross section of senior Government officials absolve Muturi from any blame and instead point fingers at the President whom they describe as “a man not easy to convince otherwise once he has decided to follow a particular path.”

“There are several instances where some of us have tried at meetings to prevail upon him to reconsider some policies but he would lecture us at length.

If you want to be in good books with him, you have to let him have his way,” a said a senior official based at the Office of the President who spoke to People Daily in confidence for fear of appraisal.

In the last one year, the Government has lost nearly 10 major cases brought before courts including the Finance Act, 2023, appointment of the CASs and deployment of officers to Haiti.

Opinions are, however, divided on whether the AG is overwhelmed and not giving the best legal opinions on such key matters or the government is ignoring his advice.

Success or failure

“The AG must have declined to appropriately advise the government as the legal chief adviser or there was no defence at all from the AG.

Due to weak defence in court, they were essentially a one-sided story, and in an adversarial system like ours, the courts award those who prosecute their cases robustly,” a senior government official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter said.

According to the official, who is a lawyer, the success or failure of a case is essentially determined by the robustness of the opposing party’s case.

“The AG is solely to blame for either putting up a weak defence or lack of it. To me he has slept on his work,” the official intimated.

However, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Eric Theuri absolved the AG from any blame, insisting that the cases presented before courts have always been strong that any judge would not hesitate to rule against the government.

“It is not about the AG but the facts presented have always been strong. Look at the recent decisions on the Finance Act and Haiti, it was about the Constitution.

Whether it was the Muturi or somebody else, the judgment would still have gone the same way,” Theuri, who successfully petitioned the High Court on the imposition of the illegal housing levy to Kenyans, said.

But Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, the country’s foremost public interest litigant, blamed the AG for not properly advising the government.

“We must start questioning and interrogating the competence of the Attorney General. The government can’t lose many cases in a row. Either the government doesn’t listen to his legal counsel or he’s grossly incompetent,” Omtatah says.

On his side, Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot, who successfully challenged the deployment of officers to Haiti, says he is delighted with the courts move to stand firm by upholding the rule of law and the Constitution amid numerous attacks and intimidation from the Executive and Kenya Kwanza politicians.

“I remind President Ruto he took an oath to obey, respect, and defend the Constitution of Kenya. He, therefore, should adhere to the advice given to him by the Attorney General,” Aukot said.

According to constitutional lawyer Henry Kurauka, the Judiciary must accept that it is part of the Government.

Checks and balances

“Since Government is a complex structural creature, courts ought to be diligent in making orders so as not to create absurdities, administrative challenges and interference with statutory duties of other organs,” he said.

He said the doctrines of separation of powers and checks and balances must be observed by organs of Government.

“Recent court decisions will worsen the poor relationship between the Judiciary and Executive. Many government plans and actions have been nullified by courts.

Housing levy and Haiti police officers’ deployment are good examples,” he said, adding that AG Muturi appeared overwhelmed with his work.

Decisions by the Court of Appeal declining to allow a plea by the Attorney General, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Nd’ungu, and Kenya Revenue Authority to suspend the High Court Judgement that declared some of section of the Finance Act, 2023 including the housing levy and High Court decision to bar deployment of officers to Haiti has again exposed the strained relationship between the Judiciary and Executive.

Other major projects that the courts have slamming brakes after their legality were challenged in court include the Sh1 billion project on the registration and issuance of new digital IDs dubbed Maisha Number, sale of parastatal institutions Mombasa and Lamu ports, privatising several public institutions like the KICC, Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya Literature Bureau, Kenya Seed Company.