William Ruto Claims He Was Told To Set Aside Money To Bribe Judiciary: "Waliniambia Niunde Budget"

• President William Ruto vowed to deal with corrupt judicial officers, derailing his development agenda
• The president said he would not follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta's administration
• Ruto alleged that the previous regime had set aside a budget for bribing courts to get favourable rulings

Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Eldoret - President William Ruto has once again warned corrupt judicial officers, whom he said were derailing government projects.

Speaking in Eldoret on Tuesday, January 9, the president claimed the previous administration under former president Uhuru Kenyatta was bribing judges.

According to Ruto, the previous regime had set aside a budget to bribe judicial officers in order to deliver favourable rulings.

Why is Ruto at loggerheads with the judiciary?

The head of state disclosed that some unnamed people advised him to set up a budget to bribe the judiciary, something he vowed not to undertake, adding that he would rather fight the corruption head-on.

“Some people are saying that because the previous government had a budget to bribe courts, I should go and come up with a budget to bribe the courts.

Do you want your money to be used to bribe the courts? No budget will be made to bribe anyone in the courts. The courts are servants of Kenyans," Ruto said.

The president once again vowed to deal firmly with corrupt judicial officers, insisting the judiciary was also subject to the people of Kenya.

“We must deal. Firmly, decisively with corruption in the Judiciary and we are going to root out corruption in the judiciary…it is still subject to the people of Kenya," the head of state added.

Why does LSK call for protests?

In a related development, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) plans to stage peaceful protests next week to show solidarity with the judiciary after Ruto issued threats and promised to defy court orders.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, LSK president Eric Theuri urged the president to retract his remarks on the judiciary and rule of law.

“We’re concerned, as LSK, that we begin the year with a dark cloud hovering around the justice system following remarks by the president. Those remarks are a threat to the rule of law. We want the president to retract, or else they will send very bad signals,” Theuri said.