Speaker Justin Muturi warns against judicial dictatorship

The speaker of the national assemply Justine Muturi

NAIROBI, KENYA: The National Assembly has called for mutual respect and smooth co-ordination in discharging constitutional duties by the three arms of government.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi warned that Judiciary's continued interference in its mandate amounts to judicial dictatorship.

Muturi said Parliament's mandate is derived from the supreme law and urged the Judiciary to keep of its affairs by observing the doctrine of separation of powers.

Giving a public talk at the University of Nairobi, Muturi expressed concern at the persistent interference by the Judiciary in parliamentary proceedings.

The Speaker blamed the Judiciary for interfering with the debate on Division of Revenue Bill 2013 and ruling to retain Embu Governor Martin Wambora despite having been impeached twice by the Senate.

He stressed that no arm of government had the right to interfere with the constitutional mandate of the other.

"If people respect subjudice, then Parliament should be left to debate on its own," said the Speaker.

He continued: "There will be divergent views by the respective arms of government but each institution should be left to undertake their businesses independently."

Muturi warned that continued interference by the Judiciary in parliamentary affairs was not healthy for a growing democracy.

"The three arms of government should complement each other. Parliament makes the laws and the Judiciary interprets," he said, adding that "there is no civilised democracy in the world that interfere with matters in Parliament. Parliament is constitutional mandated to enact laws while the judiciary interprets the laws passed."

While fielding questions from the public, Muturi also defended Jubilee's tyranny of numbers in the House, saying it was not unique to the 11th Parliament.

"Parliament must not necessary disagree with everything coming from the Executive so as to be seen as playing its role and, in any case, we are not seen as rubber stamping everything that comes from the Executive," he said.

He defended the legislators who skip the plenary session, arguing that their work in committees are also part of parliamentary business.