Destroying parliamentary, judicial autonomy is foolhardy

Supreme Court of Kenya, Nairobi

Over the last month, I have tried, and failed, to make sense of Jubilee Party’s reaction to the annulment of the presidential election. Here is why: First, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto came out guns blazing after Chief Justice David Maraga. This was a squandered opportunity for the duo to burnish their credentials as custodians for the rule of law and democracy. If indeed they won the election, they should have accepted the re-run and sought to ensure that it happens within the 60-day constitutional limit. But by training their ire at the Supreme Court and the CJ, they instead created a perception that they were opposed to transparent polls and judicial independence.

This is unfortunate, and says volumes about the quality of political advice that the president and his deputy receive. There is a sense that no one at State House is thinking beyond the next five years. Second, the ongoing process in Parliament to tame the judiciary and rewrite statutes governing our electoral process makes no strategic sense. There is no other way to view this than as a bad faith effort by a ruling party to further entrench its dominance. It is also dangerous for our democracy. If Jubilee gets in the habit of jamming through such controversial laws through Parliament in an effort to signal loyalty to Messrs Kenyatta and Ruto, we will soon find ourselves in an autocracy.