How Ruto is calculating the path to powerful presidency

In an ideal world, Ruto would implement his programmes without resistance, as he hinted on Tuesday when he directed that a road construction project halted by the courts go on, after ordering his principal secretary to look for funds stating that he would not "wait for these people (the courts)".

And for his remarks, vowing to defy court orders by "corrupt" judicial officers, Ruto has been accused of seeking to establish a dictatorship where his word would be the law.

"Having captured Parliament, Ruto now wants to intimidate, subdue and capture the Judiciary... Ruto wants to establish an absolute dictatorship," former Prime Minister Raila Odinga said on Wednesday.

Opposition figures have warned that the president risks inviting anarchy if he is to take on the Judiciary. As deputy president, Ruto warned of similar consequences if court orders were to be ignored, with a video clip of the same widely shared yesterday. In the clip, Ruto warned action against then-public officials who defied court orders, which he said were not mere "pieces of paper".

"We want every public servant to understand that the basis of our democracy and nationhood is the respect of the rule of law. The slide to anarchy and confusion and dictatorship starts when we do not respect the rule of law," Ruto said in the undated clip.

It is no secret that Ruto seeks to consolidate power around him, with a raft of actions, including policy changes, promising his Executive unmatched power in recent history at the detriment of constitutional institutions.

He already controls Parliament, where his policies are endorsed without as much as a whimper. That is courtesy of the majority he enjoys in the bicameral House after a sustained onslaught on the opposition benches, where he continues to fish allies.

Attorney General Justin Muturi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The proposal, contained in the National Government Administration Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023, will see Muturi, charged with offering the government legal advice, sidestepped in State engagements.

Recent reports have indicated that the AG has been sidelined in the Kenya Kwanza administration, with some State-sponsored Bills developed without his input.

Ruto is seemingly following his predecessor's lead, who faced accusations of ignoring advice from former AGs.

The State is also seeking to clip some powers of the National Land Commission (NLC) through a Bill tabled in Parliament by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah.

The Land Laws (Amendment) Bill seeks to bypass the NLC in the compulsory acquisition of public land on behalf of the national and county governments, granting the Lands Cabinet Secretary such powers.