Kenyan prez draws judiciary ire after faulting court ruling

Bloomberg

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta drew criticism from the chief justice and the nation’s top legal body after he questioned the independence of the judiciary over a court ruling in favor of the main opposition.
Kenyatta on Sunday said the courts were “increasingly getting entangled” in what he said was the opposition’s attempts to delay elections scheduled for Aug. 8. Chief Justice David Maraga responded by insisting the judiciary is independent, while the Law Society of Kenya described Kenyatta’s comments as “alarming.”
“Where the public comments question the independence of the judiciary or threaten judges, they erode the foundation of the administration of justice and threaten the rule of law,” the body said in an emailed statement on Monday. “It is most alarming therefore when such comments are made by no less a person than the head of state.”
Kenyans go to the polls on Aug. 8 in an election that opinion polls show will need a second round to determine a winner, with Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga both set to obtain less than 50 percent of the vote. Elections in Kenya are fractious times for investors because of violence that engulfed the nation in three of the past five votes, including after the 2007 election, when two months of fighting left at least 1,100 people dead.

‘Unacceptable Affair’
Kenyatta viewed orders being issued by the country’s courts as “designed to scuttle the election” and “an unacceptable affair,” according to a statement from the presidency. Deputy President William Ruto also challenged the chief justice to explain why he directed the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission not to print the ballot papers before the court ruling, a claim Maraga denied.