President William Ruto has called on all three arms of government to respect each other as they execute their various mandates.
Speaking at a rally in Kisii, the President said every arm of the government must respect the independence of the other arms.
“The Executive must respect the Judiciary. The Judiciary must respect the Legislature. The Legislature must respect the Executive,” he said.
The President said respect for each other will lead to a country that is in harmony with the constitution.
“On matters to do with legislature, let us leave Parliament to legislate. In matters of policy, let us leave the Executive to execute. And on matters of Judiciary, let us leave the Judiciary to perform their functions independently.”
Ruto warned that fights pitting the three arms of government would make Kenya impossible to govern.
Last month, the National Assembly criticised the Judiciary, accusing it of judicial dictatorship and undermining the nation’s democratic and constitutional order.
The backlash followed the Court of Appeal's ruling declaring the Finance Act, 2023, unconstitutional due to flaws in its enactment process.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Kathurima M’inoti, Agnes Murgor and John Mativo found that the amendments made to various tax laws—such as the Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax Act, Excise Duty Act, Retirement Benefits Act and Export Processing Zones Act, post-public participation were unconstitutional.
National Assembly majority leader, Kimani Ichung’wah, accused the Judiciary of overstepping its mandate.
Budget and Appropriations Committee chairperson, Ndindi Nyoro, warned that the Court of Appeal’s decision could necessitate deeper budgetary cuts, potentially crippling service delivery across all arms of government.
