Uhuru's painful punches and the 'bigger picture'

President Uhuru Kenyatta.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Executive Order No. 1 of 2020 did not attempt to restructure the Judiciary. Nor did it purport to assign functions to either the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) or the Judiciary. As lawyer Kamotho Waiganjo pointed out in an opinion piece, “right from 2013, each successive Executive Order has included the Judiciary, constitutional commissions and independent organs and outlined their mandate and functions”. Last week’s order was therefore not a departure from precedent.

Why then did Chief Justice David Maraga feel constrained to issue a statement pointing out that “the manner in which the Judiciary operates cannot be the subject of an Executive Order made pursuant to Article 132(3)(b)”? Why has the editorial of one of our newspapers decried “a growing feeling that the current administration is steadily pushing the country back to the imperial presidency jettisoned under the 2010 Constitution?” Do these assertions have merit or are they merely punches of disgruntled elements, flailing about and hoping to hit something?