Lawyers in Kenya have announced that they will be petitioning both houses of the country’s parliament to impeach President Uhuru Kenyatta.
They are accusing him of disobeying the constitution of the country and undermining the judiciary.
According to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Kenyatta’s refusal to swear in 41 judges proposed to him by a commission is inappropriate.
President Kenyatta said in February this year that he could not swear in the judges, some of whom he says had integrity issues.
The names of the judges were submitted to the President by the Judicial Service Commission.
The country’s Chief Justice, David Maraga on Monday said President Kenyatta must respect the rule of law and swear in 41 judges proposed to him without further delay.
Maraga said he has failed in all efforts to get an audience with the president over the matter to resolve the challenges.
“A shortage of judges and near paralysis of court operations has been caused by the President’s refusal to swear-in the judges,” he said.
Already two court have declared the president’s decision as unconstitutional, ruling that the president had no powers to reject names recommended by the commission.
Chief Justice Maraga said that “The president’s disregard of court orders does not bode well for our constitutional democracy and is, potentially, a recipe for anarchy.”
The Law Society of Kenya said it will also remove the Solicitor General and Attorney General from its list of advocates for mis-advising the president.
“We cannot have somebody who has taken the oath to govern in tandem with the constitution who fails to perform his duties under the constitution,” LSK president Nelson Havi said.
Source: Africafeeds.com
