CJ Maraga warns politicians on court cases

Chief Justice David Maraga has warned politicians and the public to stop making utterances that will interfere with the mandate of the judiciary.

Speaking during the swearing in of his deputy Philomena Mwilu as the Supreme Court representative to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Mr Maraga said that judiciary was an independent entity and should be respected.

He said that politicians and members of the public should let the judiciary do its work as they do not want any statements that may suggest that they are being directed to work in a certain way.

“As we head to election, I ask the politicians to refrain from statements that may suggest that the judiciary is being directed to do this or that, we will discharge our mandate according to the law,” said Mr Maraga.

He said that he will not also be responding anytime a person utters statements in public against the judiciary especially during the campaign period.

He asked the public to have confidence with the body stating that no decision of the court is determined by public utterances but on the basis of the evidence, law and fact.

Further, he said the judiciary was ready to handle any cases arising from election disputes and dispose them accordingly.

Political parties’ dispute tribunal and the High Court, he said, are handling over 250 cases from the recent party nominations.

DCJ Ms Mwilu will serve as member of the Commission for five years.

Justice Mwilu replaces Supreme Court Judge Dr Smokin Wanjala whose term came to end last year.