Kenya judges condemn Kenyatta for “veiled threats” & crook tag

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya has received a backlash from Kenyan judges after he issued a “veiled threat” and called them crooks for overturning his election on the ground that it was flawed.

The Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA) has however asked people to ignore “political rhetoric”, calling his rant “an assault on the judiciary”.

“The president of this country referred to the president of the Supreme Court and the other judges as “wakora”, or crooks in Swahili, it said.

“He went on to make veiled threats against the same judges based on their decision. The same threats against the judiciary have been repeated at State House,” said its chief Bryan Khaemba, referring to the presidential palace.

Read also: Kenyatta says the judiciary is a problem, vows to fix courts if re-elected

“We condemn this assault on the decisional independence of the honourable judges,” he said.

Speaking on live television, Kenyatta who earlier said he disagrees with the decision of the Supreme Court to nullify the last staged general but noted that he would respect the decision said his country has “a problem” with its judiciary and he vowed to “fix” the court if re-elected.

Chief Justice David Maraga on Friday declared Kenyatta’s victory in the August 8 polls “invalid, null and void”, pointing to widespread irregularities in the electronic transmission of vote results.

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