President William Ruto says that he is more than willing to have talks with the Judiciary on matters corruption.
This is after Chief Justce Martha Koome called for talks with the Executive, because of the continued attacks that have been directed to the judiciary.
On Tuesday, while commissioning Tinderet Integrated Technical and Trainers College in Nandi County, Ruto insisted that all arms of government should hold talks on ending graft, which was hindering development in the country.
“I agree with what CJ says about dialogue and we must have a conversation about corruption and we will not allow graft to impede our development.
“This is the year we will sort out corruption in Kenya. Let me tell you CJ, I am ready to hold a meeting between the leadership of the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature. I am ready for the conversation on how we will deal with corruption because it is sabotaging the progress and potential of Kenya,” Ruto said.
He added that he would lead the conversation to ensure that the Judiciary is not held hostage again.
“I am going to lead from the front in that conversation so that we can deal with the corrupt who go to court to escape justice and stall government operations. They want to hold the system hostage by bribing the Judiciary through hiring expensive lawyers and derailing the progress. I’m confident that we will have that conversation,” he noted.
Koome’s talks with the Executive however attracted mixed reactions, with ODM leader Raila Odinga opposing the discussions.
“Chief Justice is talking about having dialogue with the Executive, which has got an active case in the court. That is how to compromise justice. Let the judges do their thing independently. We want to tell the chief justice not to compromise the position of the court,” Raila said.
He added that, “If you want to compromise the judiciary and negotiate with the executive over this kind of dispute, then we are saying you are yourself going to compromise this country.”
