Grow a thick skin, Uhuru advises Maraga

Chief justice David Maraga (left) and President Uhuru Kenyatta during the launch Judiciary performance report at Supreme court today,  December 15, 2017.[Edward Kiplimo/Standard]

President Uhuru Kenyatta has wittingly urged Chief Justice David Maraga to be receptive of criticism and watch out for negative comments from the public, maintaining it is inevitable given his position.

“I speak from my experience as a politician…Kenyans will say what they have to say and most of the times it will not be flattering. That is democracy. One of the things I have learnt is just grow a thick skin Chief Justice,” President Uhuru told Maraga.

The remarks rekindled the moments after the Supreme Court nullified the August 8 presidential election results and President Uhuru Kenyatta at a meet-the-people tour at Burma market, Nairobi called Chief Justice Maraga and the other judges as ‘wakora’ (crooks).

The head of state would further ask the Judiciary to be mindful of the effects of its actions on the other arms of government maintaining that the administration of justice should not be shrouded in intrigues that only a few understood.

“Any decision that negatively affects the desire of a better, prosperous life for the average Kenyan or their safety or wellbeing should be carefully interrogated before being undertaken,” he said.

President Kenyatta was speaking at the launch of the State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice Report at the Supreme Court on Friday December 15.

New agenda

The report outlines the Judiciary’s transformational gains from 2012 to 2016 when it was geared towards building its institutional capacity and new agenda to improving its service delivery.

 “We have started the implantation of a far-reaching digital strategy that will not only transform the way courts work, but also how public interacts with us,” said Chief Justice Maraga.

Maraga would also reiterate their plan to their commitment to working with the other arms of the government and Independent commissions to tackle corruption.

“The high-minded doctrine of separation of powers and principles of the rule of law are sometimes necessarily inconvenient, but they need not to be a basis for inter-branch friction,’’ said Maraga.

“All agencies in the Justice sector must stop the blame game. Wanjiku is not interested in knowing who is to blame for the dismissal of corruption cases brought to court,” he added.