Many lawyers in Nairobi, Kenya are protesting because President William Ruto is not following court orders.
The lawyers are walking in a protest from the highest court to the president’s office. The protest was arranged by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
President Ruto was strongly criticized last week for saying he might not follow court orders. He claimed that some judges were working with opposition politicians and other groups to stop his government’s plans.
The leader of this country must follow the laws, just like everyone else. So we don’t think he should speak as if following court orders is a special thing he’s doing for the country. “It is a rule in the constitution,” said LSK president Eric Theuri during a press conference on Thursday.
Mr Theuri said that LSK will think about starting the process to remove Mr Ruto from his position because he is not following the rules of the constitution if he keeps criticizing the judiciary.
LSK has put together a group of lawyers to submit a request to the High Court to say that Mr. Ruto broke the rules of the constitution, Mr. Theuri told the privately-owned Standard newspaper.
Many well-known Kenyan lawyers, like former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and former minister Eugene Wamalwa, who are now opposition politicians, have joined the protest.
The top judge and a political leader told Mr Ruto that not following the court’s decisions could cause chaos in the country.
Tag: President Eric Theuri
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Kenyan attorneys demonstrate against Ruto’s threats against justice
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Kenya lawyers query dropping of major corruption cases
Kenya’s law society has condemned the country’s public prosecutor for withdrawing corruption cases against high-profile individuals, including a cabinet nominee.
Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Eric Theuri on Thursday called on the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji to publicly reveal the reasons behind the successive withdrawal of high-profile cases.
“We are… alarmed by the recent decisions by the DPP as they point to either two disturbing scenarios; that the prosecutions were mounted for the ulterior purpose whose end has been achieved or overtaken by events, or that the DPP has withdrawn the cases to aid an ulterior motive,” Mr Theuri said.
The LSK has threatened to pursue legal action against Mr Haji “so as to avert the abuse of the prosecutorial powers donated to Mr Haji by Kenyans through the constitution”.
Opposition legislators have also questioned why the withdrawal of cases came a few days before the commencement of the vetting of cabinet nominees by parliament next week.
On Wednesday, the prosecutor said he was dropping a $157,000 (£140,000) corruption case against the nominated minister for public service, Aisha Jumwa. Another $3.3m corruption case against a former managing director of state utility firm Kenya Power was also dropped.
All had denied the allegations against them.