Raila now calls for Judiciary purge

ODM leader Raila Odinga has called for a neutral and independent commission or task force to deal with graft in the Judiciary.

The opposition chief was categorical that the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary cannot be trusted to impartially deal with the vice facing the country's legal system.

Raila said the country should not repeat the mistake of the 2003 Aron Ringera-led radical surgery and Shard Rao, established to weed out corrupt judges, but whose work came to naught.

"It is not the first time Kenyans have heard about the purge in the Judiciary. The past two purges were to blackmail and intimidate the judges so that they could be compliant," he said.

The Ringera-led radical surgery and Sharad Rao's Judged and Magistrate Vetting Board, established in 2011, sent home several judges and magistrates declared unfit to hold office.

"If it is reforms within the Judiciary, it must be by a natural institution or natural commission, not the Executive or Legislature, nor the Judiciary itself," said Raila.

The ODM leader, who addressed the party's delegates in Kilifi on Wednesday, also castigated Senate and National Assembly Speakers, saying they had turned into the president's cheerleaders.

He said it was the first since independence that the two Speakers of Parliament have been summoned to State House to witness the signing of Bills into law by the President.

"We have the situation where the Legislature is now captive. Members of Parliament are passing all Bills prepared by the Executive within two hours in Parliament without debate," he said.

The opposition leader recounted in the old days Bills were debated by MPs before the Speakers wrote to the Attorney General for drafting and editing then taken to the president to assent to them.

"What this regime has done to the Legislature and Judiciary is an affront to our democracy. All those who have hatched this scheme will be defeated," he said.

Raila criticized the meeting between President William Ruto, Chief Justice Martha Koome, and Speakers Moses Wetang'ula (National Assembly) and Amason Kingi (Senate) at State House Nairobi.

He claimed that it was clear that they met to send fears among the judges to rule favourably in the cases against government policies opposed by Kenyans.

Ruto has, however, defended the meeting with Justice Koome, saying it was meant to rally the entire government to a united front in the fight against corruption, and state capture.

The president said that it was important for the three arms of government to join hands to deal with the cartels and incompetent public officials who have colluded to steal from Kenyans.

On Tuesday, Wetang'ula also criticized those opposed to the State House meeting terming them the "cynics making hypocritical statements." He said the meeting was the Arms of Government Summit.

"The cynics marking hypocritical statements against the Arms of Government Summit of 22/1/24 are ignorant of the philosophy of the state. The three are Arms of the same Government and will meet, unapologetically," posted the National Assembly Speaker on his X handle.

At the same time, Raila, who is leading the ODM membership recruitment drive at the Coast, also warned against early campaigns, saying they were threatening the unity of the party and Azimo.

He said in mature democracies like the United States, presidential aspirants start their campaigns five months before an election.

"In the US where elections are in November, the campaigns started three months ago. In ODM counties we discourage early campaigns, let those elected first deliver for the people," said Raila.

Raila was accompanied by Governors Abdulswamad Nassir (Mombasa), Gideon Mung'aro (Kilifi), ODM deputy party leader Wycliffe Oparanya among other leaders.

Nassir warned that there were already signs that their competitors had penetrated ODM and were sowing divisions.

"I've said that it is clear that some people are just waiting for an opportune time to jump ship. We must recruit more and prepare to defeat them in 2027," said Nassir.

Raila will tour Kwale on Thursday before he heads to Taita Tavata on Friday. He will conclude his tour of the Coast on Saturday in Mombasa.