Chief Justice Maraga tells President Uhuru Kenyatta he is not his project

NAIROBI: Chief Justice David Maraga has told President Uhuru Kenyatta that he is not a Jubilee government project.

Mr Maraga addressed Uhuru through the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and also sent a personal statement saying the recruitment process for the position of Chief Justice had nothing to do with politics.

During a visit to Nyamira County last month, the President asked residents to give him another term in office, arguing that his Government had given 'their son' a job, referring to the CJ who comes from the region.

But following a meeting Monday, both the CJ and JSC said Uhuru had misled the public as there were no political strings pulled to favour him for the influential seat.

"I have restrained myself from responding to these false statements so as not to give them undue prominence or credence. However, they continue to be claimed and peddled around as if they are the truth, and in total disregard of their corrosive effect on the perception of the independence of the Judiciary," said Maraga.

And a statement signed by JSC Secretary Ann Amadi read: "JSC has had the opportunity to review and evaluate the statement by the Head of State and takes the view that the remarks during the said political meeting could, and had in fact, been misconstrued to imply a political hand in the appointment of the Chief Justice. This is unfortunate, erroneous and substantially misleading."