Navigating judicial independence and accountability

I have been asked to discuss the issue of navigating judicial independence and accountability in politically sensitive cases. In Kenya these cases include the three Raila cases on Presidential election petitions, the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) case, the case of Gikonyo and Another v The National Assembly of Kenya and 4 others. In 2017 the Supreme Court of Kenya nullified the Presidential elections and ordered a re-run within 60 days. This was a first in Africa and the fourth in the world. It was a momentous decision. In the BBI judgement the Supreme Court halted the BBI, but did not declare it “null and void”. In the Gikonyo case the Supreme Court of Kenya declared the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) unconstitutional. Recently in the case of the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning and Others v Okiya Omtatah Okoiti and Others, the Supreme Court of Kenya upheld the constitutionality of the deeply unpopular Finance Act 2024 and public sentiment was that they capitulated to the Executive.

Paradox