Thursday, December 10, 2020 – Retired Court of Appeal Judge Samuel Onderi Elkana Bosire has spilled the beans on intimidation tactics employed by late former President Daniel Arap Moi, to undermine the independence of the judiciary.
The retired judge revealed that the Provincial Commissioners intimidated and harassed judges to disregard the rule of law – purporting to do so under orders of the President.
The Moi regime has been known to have undermined the independence of the judiciary and co-opted it to become an arm of the executive.
However, it is the first time that the admission is coming from someone who served as a high-ranking judicial officer for twenty out of the twenty-four years Moi ruled the country.
Bosire was speaking at a function presided over by outgoing Chief Justice David Maraga on Monday.
The Chief Justice will go on terminal leave tomorrow (Friday 11) ahead of his official retirement in January 2020.
He drew attention to an incident in Mombasa where he was serving as a presiding judge. A provincial commissioner called and ordered him to make a judgment in favor of the government, a directive he bluntly declined.
“The commissioner said the instructions had come from the Head of State.”
“I told the PC to go to hell because as judges, we don’t work the way he had assumed,” Bosire said.
“The commissioner immediately reported me to my boss; then Chief Justice Cecil Miller Snr. who also questioned why I was going against the presidential directive,” Bosire counseled judges to be bold and independent.
Bosire left the Judiciary following the 2012 purge by the Justice Ringera-led commission.
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