Senior Counsel and Constitutional Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has opposed suggestions to slash judiciary budget amid its differences with the executive.
Taking to his X account, Ahmednassir criticized the remarks made by Mogotio Member of Parliament (MP) Reuben Kiborek suggesting that the National Assembly will cut judiciary budget if it continues opposing the government plans.
Instead, the lawyer explained that the move is ill-informed adding that legislature and the executive should instead allocate more funds to the judiciary.
“Cutting the judiciary budget is the wrong move. In fact, the judiciary needs more money and resources,” said Ahmednassir.
However, he pointed out that the judiciary should not waste resources on trips like the Supreme Court does.
He affirmed that the leadership of the judicial system should also be reformed.
“But we need a judiciary that doesn’t waste the meagre resources on bonding trips to Watamu, as does the Supreme Court of Kenya. We also need reformist leadership for the judiciary, too,” he said.
Ahmednasir-Supreme Court War
This comes at a time when Ahmednasir was permanently barred from making submissions at the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice (CJ) Martha Koome barred the lawyer together with his firm’s associates from appearing before the court arguing that he has relentlessly scandalized and ridiculed it.
Kiborek had stated that the judiciary risked budget cuts due to its recent rulings against key government projects.
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Kiborek Threatens the Judiciary
Speaking in Nyakach, Kisumu County the MP said the National Assembly would use its budget allocation powers to punish the judiciary for opposing the government agenda.
He cited the Social Insurance Health Fund and the Housing Levy arguing that the judges ruled against the two bills without considering the poor Kenyans who cannot afford medical cost and decent houses.
“Tuko na nguvu moja tulipewa kule bunge ya kutengeneza budget, bwana chair budget (Ndindi Nyoro) nataka nikuombe tunapotengeneza budget yenye inakuja hii judiciary ikikataa kubehave tunakataa budget yao yote,” he said.
This loosely translates to “We also have power as MPs to prepare the budget, I want to ask the budget chair committee that in the next budget we should slash the whole judiciary allocation if it fails to behave.”
According to Kiborek, this would allow judicial officers understand that ordinary Kenyans lives matter just like the expensive lifestyle lived by these particular officers.
“Hiyo budget yao wakikataa kutii na kuskiza maneno hii mwezi wa pili tunaenda the cycle ya budget making na tuko na nguvu tulipewa kikatiba ya kungawa pesa ya Kenya na chairman wetu ako hapa tunyonge hiyo budget yao yote wakuwe wanaomba maji na kutembea na mguu ndiyo wajue venye wakenya hawanza kazi wanaishi,” he added.
This loosely translates to “We are headed to the budget making cycle in February and we will use our budget allocation powers as the powers as National Assembly to cut their (judiciary) budget, they will walk on foot and ask for water on the streets so that they can understand how jobless Kenyans live.”
The MP’s remarks came two days after the Court of Appeal declined to suspend orders blocking the government from deducting the 1.5% Housing Levy.
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Ruto-Koome Meeting
However, President William Ruto and the legislature had promised to increase budgetary allocations to the judiciary.
In a meeting on January 22, the executive and the legislature agreed to support judiciary’s request for additional budgetary support to ensure efficient delivery of service and the fight against corruption.
The additional budgetary support is to facilitate the recruitment of an additional 25 judges of the High Court and 11 new judges of the Court of Appeal.
Also, the infamous meeting was to resolve the dispute between the executive and the judiciary following public utterances against the judiciary by the executive.
