Catholic Archbishop Martin Kivuva Cautions President Ruto Against Disobeying Court Orders

Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) chair Archbishop Martin Kivuva has cautioned President William Ruto’s administration against openly disrespecting the rule of law.

Kivuva, the Archbishop of Mombasa Archdiocese, argued that the government’s defiance of court orders was akin to a recipe for anarchy and could easily slide the country back to the dark days.

“We have been advising Kenyans to respect the law. Even before the elections in 2022 we called on Kenyans to remain peaceful and where they were not happy with the outcome of the election, they should seek legal redress in court and it happened,” he said.

The KCCB chair noted further: “We all saw the tension that followed afterwards. This tendency where our leader is advised by the courts and he defies can lead us into trouble. And this cuts across everywhere from top government officials down to common mwananchi. If you are told as a driver to turn right, just turn right, don’t turn left.”

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Imminent dangers
He said there is imminent danger of dragging the country into the past murky days of “survival of the fittest,” where some people follow the law, while others use violence and weapons to force their way.

Kivuva was addressing the press on the sidelines of the Dialogue and Mediation for Peace and Cohesion forum in Mombasa on Thursday that brought together representatives from Mombasa Church Forum, Muslim leaders, Security officers and Supkem.

Archbishop at the same time called for the constitution of a functioning Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) which currently has no chairman and commissioners to avoid operating in a vacuum.

“We all saw what happened to IEBC. It disintegrated following what happened after the elections. It is the responsibility of those concerned including the President to ensure IEBC is in place. Without the body, we will find ourselves approaching elections without the commission. Even now there are several parts of the country which are supposed to hold mini-elections but there are no commissioners,” Kivuva explained yesterday.

He observed that it is time for the elected leaders to serve the country by promises made during the campaigns.

—PD