Leaders and kenyans at large have raised concerns over recent remarks by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua calling out for dismissal of high court judge Lady Justice Esther Maina from office.
This comes after In July 2022, Justice Esther Maina ruled that Ksh202 million belonging to the DP was received from government agencies but there was no evidence to show Gachagua had supplied any goods or services to the government and concluded that the funds were proceeds of crime.
According to Gachagua, the judge declared part of his wealth as proceeds of crime without considering his application to cross-examine the investigator thus is asking for her removal.
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“I will lead the Executive by example. On Thursday, I will personally present a petition to the CJ against Justice Esther Maina for her removal from the Judiciary. The judge declared my wealth as proceeds of crime against rules of evidence. We made an application to summon the investigator but she refused.”
However, leaders and kenyans have raised concerns over these remarks terming them as infringement into the independence of the judiciary. This they claim can’t happen because not every case ruled against someone was done so because of corruption.
Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has called out the DP over his push for dismissal of high court judge saying that while he has in a few instances disagreed with Maina, she is one of the few principled judges of the High Court.
“Deputy President Gachagua is wrong on this. Justice Maina is a principled judge who has a clean record from the magistracy to the High Court. “I have strongly disagreed with her on the few occasions I appeared before her, and I told her in court that I found her too “pro-government.” But she isn’t a judge one can accuse of corruption or incompetence.”
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Law Society of Kenya through it’s President Erick Theuri has criticised the DP’s decision to make a public statement over the case instead of making a formal complaint with the Judicial Service Commission.He, however, noted that LSK will wait and see the evidence provided by the second-in-command.
“You see an attempt to seriously encroach into the independence of the Judiciary. I have heard the sentiments that were made by the Deputy President and I thought to myself, if you have sentiments of corruption against a particular judge, just present it to the Judicial Service Commission. You do not need to go and make public pronouncements.”