Former Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju has slammed the Supreme Court of Kenya judges in an open letter to Chief Justice Martha Koome.

In the five-page letter dated Friday, March 21, 2025, Tuju has accused the judges of being bias and irresponsible when handling key cases.

For instance, the former Cabinet Secretary without portfolio cited the language the Supreme Court of Kenya judges used in the 2022 presidential petition ruling and their conduct in cases involving Dari Ltd.

Tuju went ahead to fault a section of the judges for engaging in public discussions on active cases before the High Court and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

According to Tuju, an irresponsible SCoK can easily make the country burn.

“True, we must respect the judiciary. We must uphold the rule of law, like obeying court orders. In the modern model of the state, the judiciary is as indispensable as the legislature and the executive. Nobody in their right minds can argue with the fact that the judiciary is an important pillar of the state and the last bastion for the protection of the constitutional rights of all citizens. The Apex court, the SCoK judges, must therefore bear the solemn responsibility of carrying out their duties with wisdom and sensitivity, uphold the rule of law, ensure fair trial, and protect the constitution. An irresponsible SCoK can easily make our country burn just like it happened in the USA. It is only after the civil war that the US Congress, another arm of government, enacted the legislation to ensure that the abhorrent and immoral ruling of the Supreme Court that supported slavery was vacated,” Tuju’s letter read in part.

Tuju on 2022 presidential petition

Moreover, Tuju criticised the court’s handling of the 2022 presidential petition that had been filed by the Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition candidate Raila Odinga, arguing that its dismissal used inappropriate language that inflamed an already divided nation.

“Let me state here and now so that “initoke,” that nothing demonstrated the immaturity and impunity of the Supreme Court of Kenya like the language used in the ruling dismissing the 2022 presidential petition. The SCoK has the right to make the judgements as they see fit, and we all have no choice but to accept the verdict. But in a country so divided as was the case in the USA between the Southerners and Northerners, our SCoK should have found words better than “hot air” and “wild goose chase.” In the aftermath of a closely contested election, emotions were severely inflamed as ethnic polarizing rhetoric before, during, and after the election featured with abandon. The SCoK should have been more temperate in their language as they carried out a solemn duty while adorning attire similar to what bishops wear,” Tuju said.

“The judges were pouring petrol into the fire in the midst of a highly inflammable environment, instead of cooling things down by using the right language. I state this with conviction because we are all responsible for building our nascent important institutions of the state. I have to inform you of the following not because you don’t know, but because I intend it for the benefit of other Kenyans reading this open letter to you Madam Chief Justice.”

Tuju on judges’ conduct

In his letter, Tuju also hit out at a section of the judges, whom he accused of exhibiting drunkenness in public, saying that such judges should not demand respect from the public.

“It is in the public domain that some four out of seven SCoK judges have a reputation for exhibiting drunkenness in public. If you are in doubt, I can send you some videos currently circulating in the social media with some SCoK judges making incoherent statements in their drunken stupor. Then they have the audacity to demand respect from us. What example are they setting for younger judges in the lower courts and indeed what kind of role models are they to our children pursuing courses to become professionals in the legal field,” he said.

While referencing the 1857 US Supreme Court ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which he said contributed to the American Civil War, Tuju warned that Kenya remains fragile and could become a failed state if its institutions, including the Judiciary, do not uphold fairness.