Mwilu rejects claim that Judiciary is in bed with the State

Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu has defended the Judiciary against accusations it is in bed with the government.

Justice Mwilu said the Judiciary is an arm of the government that enjoys a symbiotic relationship with the Executive and the Legislature.

She was reacting to concerns by accountants on the additional budgetary allocation of Sh3 billion to the Judiciary by President William Ruto.

"The current administration has been around for about two months. And I will only say this, any Judiciary anywhere that is in bed with government is doing the wrong thing, shouldn't be in existence. Whatever being in bed with means," said Justice Mwilu.

She said their critics should provide proof on their claims.

"I will say this, and I said it last week. The three arms of government are independent but they are interdependent on each other. The Legislature will make law, the Judiciary will interpret those laws and the Executive will enforce those laws," she explained.

She was speaking during the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) 39th conference in Mombasa.

Justice Mwilu said the Judiciary depends on the Legislature to set and allocate enough budget for the Judiciary to run its business.

"We have been getting less than 1 per cent. I have just said internationally the budgeting is like 2.5 to 3 per cent. How will we use the Sh3 billion that we have been promised? By the way, it hasn't come yet, but when it does come, we shall use it prudently, as we have done with other monies," said Mwilu.

She said she was not aware of cases where the Judiciary has been accused of misappropriation.