Yes, Mr President, every public officer must obey court orders

I thank God and appreciate everyone who contributed to our endurance and survival in 2023 despite various challenges.

We embrace 2024 with resilience and determination to do our best to make it a better year, though it appears bumpy already.

The attempted assault on our Constitution by the President and other politicians by discrediting the Judiciary, is a mean way to begin the year. It is frustrating for the President to have his flagship projects paused or delayed by the Judiciary but that is democracy.

The three arms of government, Executive, Parliament and Judiciary are independent though interdependent in their functions and hold each other accountable by providing checks and balances to ensure each operates within the rule of law and adheres to the Constitution. The President, when he was Deputy President was emphatic that, a democratically elected government must obey and implement judicial orders.

He said a democratically elected government is based on the law, “the Constitution is not a book, it is the law, court orders are not pieces of paper, it is the law, and therefore, we want every public servant to understand that the basis of our democracy and the basis of our nationhood is the respect for the rule of law.

“The slide to anarchy, confusion, impunity, and dictatorship, starts when we do not respect the rule of law. Every public servant will be held personally accountable if they do not respect the rule of law.”

There are procedures to be followed to ensure the three arms of government adhere to and respect the Constitution, human rights, and the rule of law without issuing threats and appearing to intimidate or harass each other. Even if there are indeed allegedly corrupt judges or juridical officers, there are laid down laws and procedures for handling grievances against them but roadside/churches/funerals/events declarations cannot constitutionally be used to remove them.

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has shown us in the past that, when there are credible allegations against judges and judicial officers, they are decisively and comprehensively addressed.

The roadside declarations and threats to the Judiciary and the JSC are viewed as intimidation and instilling fear in them to favour the Executive or disallow access to the Judiciary by Kenyans exercising their human rights to challenge executive orders and decisions harmful to the public good and interests.

Unfortunately, these threats and intimidation are also targeting individuals, groups, and civil society organisations seeking to ensure the Executive and Parliament respect the rule of law, the Constitution, and human rights through courts.

In a democracy, these checks and balances are necessary. They ensure politicians blinded by transient power do not ride roughshod against citizens who elected them. Yet, we are witnessing politicians including members of Parliament threatening to undermine and sabotage the Constitution they swore to defend.

All state/public offices in a democracy are held in trust on behalf of citizens and all power resides with the people.

A genuine democracy is one where the voice of the citizen is heard, respected and responded to promptly. When we bequeathed ourselves the Constitution in August 2010, we did away with roadside declarations and anchored in the Constitution the requirement for all presidential/executive orders and decisions to be in writing and properly communicated following the protocols established by law.

We also guaranteed in the Constitution public participation in all affairs of the state and anchored the independence of the Judiciary with sufficient checks and balances to ensure neither the Executive nor the Judiciary or Parliament become a law unto themselves.

This is why I agree with the President that the slide to anarchy, confusion, impunity, and dictatorship, starts when we do not respect the rule of law and every public servant should be held personally accountable for disobeying court order.

This cannot be achieved when the Executive sabotages/undermines the Constitution and threatens, intimidate and interferes with the working of the Judiciary.