- Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah Okoiti asked President William Ruto to provide evidence for his allegations of corruption within the Judiciary
- Omtatah stated that Ruto’s claims threatened judicial independence and undermined the rule of law
- The senator called on the president to apologise to the Judiciary and seek forgiveness from Kenyans who have challenged his projects in court
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Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
Nairobi - Busia senator Okiya Omtatah Okoiti has challenged President William Ruto to provide evidence into his allegations against the Judiciary.
During a press briefing on Friday, January 5, the first-term lawmaker stated that Ruto's claims against the Judiciary pose a threat to judicial independence.
Omtatah explained that the rule of law rests on judges being able to make pronouncements over cases without pressure and depending solely on the evidence at hand.
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"The allegations the president has made are grave and strike at the heart of Kenya's constitutional order because judicial independence upon which the rule of law rests requires judges not to be subject to pressure and influence so that they are free to make impartial decisions based solely on facts and law.
It is, therefore, an equally grave matter if the president does not have any evidence to support his alarming allegations. From the look of things, he doesn't have an iota of evidence against the people he has accused of engaging in bribery. Otherwise, he would have handed over the lot to law enforcement and thrown the book at them," he stated.
What is Omtatah's advice to Ruto?
He called upon the president to apologise to the Judiciary and seek forgiveness from the diligent, public-spirited Kenyans & institutions that have challenged his projects in court.
The lawmaker faulted the head of state for prosecuting his case in the court of public opinion during the burial in Nyandarua.
"He would not have presented himself before the public as a comical contradiction on two unstable stilts spewing fire and brimstone through his mouth but flailing his hands helplessly, hanging by his teeth onto an incoherent and pro-imperialist development agenda for the country," he added.
Omtatah warned that any attempt to govern the country outside the boundaries of the law would face staunch resistance.
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