Standoff between Executive and Judiciary big injustice to Kenyans

Chief Justice David Maraga’s criticism yesterday of President Uhuru Kenyatta over the latter’s failure to appoint 41 judges underscores the widening schism between the Executive and Judiciary.

Notably, the Chief Justice’s statement came only four days after he accused President Kenyatta of encroaching on Judiciary’s territory.

For several years now, the relationship between the two arms of government has been anything but cordial, which makes some to suggest that the president is out to make good his 2017 'revisit' threat.

In a highly publicised address last year, for instance, Mr Maraga lamented that the Executive was out to cripple the Judiciary through budget cuts after the Sh31.2 billion he had sought from the Treasury was whittled down to Sh17.3 billion.

Maraga has been so frustrated that he has resorted to airing his grievances in public as he has done twice in the last few days.

Yet that ought not be the case. Ideally, the Judiciary's leadership ought to thrash out whatever sticky issues it has with the Executive out of the public eye.

Unfortunately, just like last year, Maraga said yesterday his attempts to have an audience with the president had hit a brick wall.

However, as the two sides tussle, the scales are clearly tilting against Wanjiku.

According to the Chief Justice, any one filing a land case now will have to wait until 2022 for the case to be heard as the Environment and Lands Court has 33 judges handling 16,457 cases.

On the other hand, the Court of Appeal has only 15 judges against a caseload of 7,315 while the Employment Court with 12 judges has 13,197 cases.

It is, therefore, not in question that extra hands are needed on the Bench.

In addition, at the height of the budget spat last year, some law courts were reported to have shut their doors as the Judiciary struggled to survive in lean times.

Undoubtedly, the standoff between the Judiciary and the Executive affects the operation of the courts; it slows down the wheels of justice.

Justice delayed is justice denied. It is a travesty of justice when a case takes years to be heard and determined. For several years now, the Judiciary's pace of serving justice has been improving. That progress is now in danger of being reversed.

The Judiciary and the Executive should close ranks for the sake of justice and the country.