Chief Justice Martha Koome is under immense pressure to resign from office as President William Ruto’s inner circle seeks to have a firm grip and full control of the judiciary.
Reliable sources privy to the vicious fight for control of power between the executive and the judiciary have told Kurunzi News that Ruto and his men are unhappy with Koome “for refusing to play ball and frustrate those running to the courts and getting orders against the government”.
Kurunzi News can reveal that Koome has become a stumbling block to President’s Ruto’s plan to undermine the rule of law by having judicial officers give directives favorable to the Kenya Kwanza administration which is under fire from majority of Kenyans.
State House is reported to have given Koome an ultimatum to resign or be forced out through removal from office, the former option being the same route offered to ex-Inspector General Japheth Koome while the latter is the recent means through which Rigathi Gachagua’s fate was sealed.
Koome is reported to have spent the last few days consulting close friends and family on what to do as pressure mounts from the power brokers who have already delivered Ruto’s message that he is uncomfortable with the independence of the judiciary in the wake of heightened anti-government litigations.
Ruto is orchestrating a vacuum in the CJs position to allow the ascension of Philomena Mwilu, who is believed to be easy to control.
“(Philomena) Mwilu is cheap and very easy to manipulate,” an insider told Kurunzi News.
“Koome ni kichwa ngumu sana and she has a history of standing firm so the regime is very upset with her,” the source explained.
It is understood that Ruto fears that if Koome continues as CJ, the country will be more confident in the judiciary because she is said to have told judges and magistrates to exercise their judicial independence without fear of administrative consequences.
“There has been pressure on her to sanction transfers of unfriendly judges and magistrates but she has refused to make those transfers,” another source told Kurunzi News when asked in confidence.
Recent decisions by the courts, especially, on the Adani deals have left Ruto’s men baying for Koome’s blood as CJ and have convinced the President that he would have an easy way and apply his firm grip on the country if Koome is forced out.
The President is said to be plotting to extend the presidential term to seven years and the recently published and dropped bill in the Senate by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei was meant to test the waters. Kurunzi News can confirm that the intention is to have Ruto go beyond 2027 with his first term “by hook or crook” and one of the options, according to the power brokers, is to declare a state of emergency.
“There’s a silent plan to precipitate a constitutional crisis by having the president dissolve parliament before IEBC is reconstituted to have the President as the only elected leader at the national level,” the source reveals.
“The problem is that he (President Ruto) cannot do this with Koome still in office as the CJ because of her kichwa ngumu.”
The President’s communications team is believed to have come up with a plan to attack Koome and other public servants through social media campaigns following Ruto’s pepo chafu (evil spirit) remarks he made in Taita Taveta earlier in the week. Sponsored hashtags were rolled out on X (formerly Twitter) starting on Wednesday with the intention of piling pressure on the CJ to quit.
“She has reached out to her close friends to get help in how to navigate this because she is really troubled,” a close ally told Kurunzi News.
“She is known for her human rights defense record and she cannot just succumb to this so it’s a tough period for her.”
Koome has recently been on the spotlight for some of her utterances with her critics, led by firebrand lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi dismissing her tenure as the worst performing head of the judiciary.
She has been perceived as a weak link in the fight against bad governance, with some questioning her capacity to stand up against perceived excesses of the executive but this may be her chance for her to expose the rot and machinations of the Ruto Presidency.
Those who Koome well say she is not “one to complain or speak for herself especially on things like this so it’s really hard times for her”.
Kurunzi News is in pursuit of further details on how long is the ultimatum but the question for the moment might be just how long she is going to hold her own with her back pushed against the hard brick wall of the Ruto mercenaries’ schemes.
Koome, 64, was appointed CJ in 2021 and is expected to retire at the age of 70.
