COTU secretary general Francis Atwoli has said the judiciary must be respected if Kenya is to be safe. Speaking during a Central Organization of Trade Unions meeting in Nairobi on Saturday, Atwoli said the Judiciary has brilliant minds and people who have attained the required academic pedigree, and have been entrusted with the task of protecting the law according to the constitution and shouldn’t be lectured. He faulted Interior CS Fred Matiang’i for criticizing judges, “Who are you to go and lecture them, saying there is a group of judges colluding with civil societies?” he posed, “They are simply following the constitution.”
The COTU boss said the law cuts both sides, without showing due respect to anyone. He cited the case of former South Africa President Jacob Zuma who faces 16 counts of corruption and was arraigned in Court on Friday, “Even South Africans haven’t complained about their Court,” said Atwoli.
He said the future doesn’t bode well for the judiciary, after the latest attack, “When you see Courts being attacked, know that danger is coming,” he said, adding that Courts protect the meek, poor and the rich, who can all run there to find justice. Atwoli outlined it isn’t good when the confidence in the judiciary is lost and that it might pave way for anarchy because citizens will want to take matters into their own hands when they have pertinent issues to solve. He urged anyone who has issues with decisions and orders given by the Court to appeal the decisions instead of taking another route.
This comes after Chief Justice David Maraga defended judges on Thursday, against allegations that they had been compromised by opposition lawyers and civil societies. CJ Maraga said judges only dealt with cases according to the evidence presented before them, and if any party wasn’t pleased with their decisions then they should appeal.