Lawyers ask Uhuru, CJ to bury hatchet

The Mt Kenya Chapter of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has called for a 'handshake' between the Judiciary and the Executive.

Members called upon President Uhuru Kenyatta to initiate a ceasefire between the two arms of government in the interest of the public.

Their hope is that talks between the two sides would yield fruits and end the stalemate which has prevented the swearing-in of 41 judges who would be instrumental in easing the backlog in courts and congestion in prisons.

LSK Mt Kenya branch chair Lindah Kiome urged President Kenyatta to be on the forefront in ensuring government institutions obey court orders and uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.

“We echo the sentiments of Chief Justice David Maraga on the obedience of court orders and call upon the Judiciary to stand firm against persons disobeying courts,” said Ms Kiome.

The lawyers asked the Attorney General to present new allegations against any of the 41 nominees through due process and allow the untainted ones to be sworn-in.

“If at all some of the nominees have integrity issues which has not been proven, then there is no justification for judging all the 41 collectively for alleged mistakes of a few. Some of the nominees are already serving in the Judiciary and it does not make sense for them to continue waiting for the appointments,” added Kiome.

The LSK branch further appealed to the Executive to avoid disregarding the rule of law, saying this could lead to anarchy.