Disregard for court orders a sure recipe for anarchy

Anarchy is our ultimate destiny, unless we start respecting court orders.

In the presence of two people or parties, a dispute is bound to occur at one time, no matter how close the parties may be. We have seen lovebirds spend millions in weddings and honeymoons, then divorce few months afterwards.

For the last three weeks, Kenyan teachers have been on strike in an effort to compel the Government to increase their pay.

There could not be an opportune time for teachers to do so, if not at the start of third term when national exams for primary and secondary schools are conducted.

Previous governments have been through this stand-off with the teaching fraternity.

What is disturbing is that while Members of Parliament have managed to increase their pay repeatedly, for teachers it becomes an emotive issue and a subject of unending dispute.

What is more alarming, however, is the rise in cases where various arms of Government disrespect court orders and get away with it.

When Justice David Majanja barred the Senate from discussing the impeachment proceedings of Governor Martin Wambora, Speaker Ekwee Ethuro nonetheless convened a special sitting that commenced impeachment of the county boss.

The Executive also appointed 47 county commissioners despite a High Court order which had termed the appointment unconstitutional.

Most recently, the labour court ruled that all teachers get a pay rise of at least 50 per cent but the Government followed with a hard-line stance of “can’t pay, won’t pay”.

The Government now expects the striking teachers to obey a court ruling issued last Friday by Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Nelson Abuodha, who suspended the teachers’ strike for 90 days to give room for dialogue.

If the Government could not obey the first court order, how does it expect teachers to obey the ruling issued last week?

We should be alarmed when leaders break provisions of the Constitution willy-nilly.

The Law Society of Kenya chair Eric Mutua raised the red flag, citing that open defiance of court orders is a recipe for chaos and undermines the rule of law in a democratic society.

The ruling elite, or wenyenchi as they are fondly referred to, must be humbled when it comes to court proceedings so that wananchi can have a sense of belonging and know that after all, we are equal in this country.

The Constitution is our best document as far as running of government affairs is concerned. It is a document we cannot afford to embrace only when it favours us and disregard it when on the receiving end.

Legal action should be taken against those who show utter disrespect for the Constitution. At the end of the day, all Kenyans must remain equal before the law.

It is impossible to have everyone agree on a particular matter. Henceforth, we must have mechanisms that ensure amicable, favourable and equitable solutions to problems affecting us as a country.

A nation whose citizens peacefully coexist is the prayer and vision for every Kenyan.

By disregarding court orders, we might be slowly but steadily heading to anarchy.