Ex-CJ Maraga’s tough warning to President Ruto in New Year’s message

Former Chief Justice David Maraga has delivered a scathing denunciation of Kenya’s 2024 violence, abductions, and economic mismanagement, demanding authorities and citizens to renew their commitment to constitutional norms and justice in 2025.

In an emotional New Year letter, Maraga underlined the immense suffering caused by deaths, maimings, and wrongful detentions of young Kenyans, appealing for prompt action to remedy these wrongs.

According to the former Chief Justice, many families have had a difficult year.

The murder, maiming, and kidnapping of young Kenyans has put our institutions to the ultimate test. It requires a moral reaction. If we are genuinely a people dedicated to the sanctity of life and the dignity of every citizen, we must stand firm in the truth.

Here is EX-CJ David Maraga’s Message

NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO FELLOW KENYANS

This year has not been easy for many families. The killing, maiming and abduction of young Kenyans has put to serious test our institutions. It demands a moral response. If we are truly a people sworn to the sanctity of life and the dignity of every citizen, then we must stand bold in the truth of our Constitution. I condemn the killing, torture and the abductions and call for the immediate release of the youth still held unlawfully. Our politics must never again be this heartless and uncaring.

Fidelity to the Constitution is fundamental. It keeps us all grounded to our responsibility to build a just society. When Kenyans voted overwhelmingly for a new constitution in August 2010, they laid down a fundamentally new vision for transforming the country and nation. This is the vision that was at the heart of the June-July national protests dubbed “Gen Z”. It was the desire of Kenyans from all walks of life to take charge of our collective destiny. It was a desire to address the culture of impunity and confront the outright callousness and unresponsive attitudes to genuine issues of public concern.

The cries of pain and outrage we saw this year were sparked by the erosion of basic dignity and economic mismanagement. We must urgently address the decline in vital sectors such as education and health. We must reset the economy to create decent jobs for our youth and restructure our tax regime in order to guarantee fairness and sustainability of the tax burden. This is possible. The country has done this before and can do it again.

This year has also shown the resilience of the Kenyan people in the face of adversity. We have seen Kenyans actively take charge and hold our public institutions to account and lead the way in demanding accountability as enshrined in the Constitution, even as they faced the brute force of a regime’s push-back. Let me be clear. The responsibility of ensuring that instruments of power are not abused lies with office bearers.

As we usher in the New Year, I call upon all of us to reflect on the promise that we made to ourselves 14 years ago. We defined a clear path for our future. We set down the values of governance, ethics, and standards of excellence as our guiding light. However, these values and principles can only be realised when they become true to you and me; when fairness and humility are the first thing we meet at the doors of our offices, when truth and justice are the ink that runs through our pens at work; when human dignity and responsibility are the forces that fuel our work.

Let us determine that 2025 is the year that these values become an inseparable part of us. It must also be the year of accountability for those who caused so much pain to Kenyans in 2024. This must be the year that we stand firmly for constitutionalism, the rule of law and justice. Let us always remember our collective destiny and safeguard it.

I wish all Kenyans a great and prosperous New year. God bless you, and God bless Kenya.