President William Ruto has pledged to appoint the six judges that his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, declined to promote over alleged integrity concerns.
Ruto, who spoke after he was sworn into office on Tuesday, said he will witness their appointment on Wednesday, September 14 at State House, Nairobi.
Ruto made the remarks at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
"As I take over, I will consolidate the place of Judiciary by respecting all judicial decisions in my regime. I will appoint six judges who are due for an appointment. Tomorrow morning (Wednesday), I'll oversee their swearing-in and allow them to get to business," he said.
Immediate former president, Uhuru Kenyatta, had appointed 34 out of 40 judges, omitting six, whom he accused of having integrity issues.
The judges had been nominated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to take up duties at the Court of Appeal, the Environment and Land Court and the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
The six JSC nominees are Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Aggrey Muchelule, Weldon Korir, Registrar of the High Court Judith Omange and Chief Magistrate Evans Makori, who had been nominated to the Environment and Lands Court.
President Ruto also said he'll allocate additional Sh3 billion to the Judiciary Fund, which was operationalised in August 2022.
Dr Ruto also pledged to support the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission's (IEBC) capacity by expanding its technology deployment to cover all areas of elections.
The Head of State has also pledged to financially empower the Office of the Inspector-General of Police.
"The IG of Police is undermined by funding dependence. As I'm making this address, I have instructed transfer of budget from the Office of the President. The IG will be the custodian of the funds," Dr Ruto said.
"This will ensure there is a financial independence of police to help fight corruption and finish political weaponisation of graft cases."
He further said he'll form an education reforms taskforce to review CBC and advise on its fate before January 2023.
To address the high cost of living, Ruto said he'll roll out fertliser subsidy programme to occasion price reduction from Sh6,500 to Sh3,500 for a 50-kg bag of fertiliser. The new prices will take effect next week.
Ruto also said that the national government will work closely with the Nairobi County Government to build at least 20 more markets in the city.
The president also said he'll work with the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) to come up with a new score-rating system to eliminate the culture of blacklisting.
The new government also plans to establish a Ministry of Cooperatives to ensure all Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) get capital to grow their businesses.
Ruto also promised to return some of the devolved port operations from the dry port in Naivasha, Nakuru County to Mombasa County.
Dr Ruto has also committed to offsetting Sh600 billion pending bills.
"I'll ensure the Sh600 billion pending bills are paid as soon."
