Vibrant City Lawyer Peter Wanyama has respondent to President william Ruto’s statements on ignoring court orders terming it dangerous and unacceptable in the current democratic space.
Lawyer Wanyama also said that the President himself is a product of a court case hence he needs to be on the forefront in respecting any kind of court orders.
” President Ruto’s statement that he won’t obey court orders is extremely dangerous. The president is a product of a court case. His victory was conscientiously confirmed by the Supreme Court. One would expect that he would understand the importance of court processes and orders,” said Lawyer Wanyama.
He said that President Ruto’s words were intented to completely damage the rule core of the rule of Law.
” The President’s statement completely damages the core of the rule of law, he is a sitting president in a country with a liberal democratic Constitution and he publicly and contemptuously states that he will not obey court orders. Moreover, it sets a very bad precedent in the bureaucracy because government officials will simply follow the President’s dictation and refuse to obey court orders,” he cautioned.
He said that the results of President Ruto’s words will be chaos and confusion in the coming days in Kenya.
” The result will be chaos in the polity. It will kill public law litigation. The president is not above the law. He should run a government that follows the rule of law fabric. All they need to do is comply with the Constitution and law when governing. No judge will issue an order to stop a constitutionally compliant process. Broadly, an independent judiciary is the bullwark of a growing democracy,” he said.
He added that , ” A system where the judiciary does not function because its orders are openly disobeyed by the president is a dictatorship. We can’t allow Kenya to follow this path, ” he said.
