President William Ruto has said he is ready for talks with the leadership of the Judiciary led by Chief Justice Martha Koome to address corruption in the country.
The President said fostering a collaborative approach between the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary will strengthen the fight against corruption in the government system.
He said corruption is delaying the implementation of government projects.
“I am ready for the conversation to deliberate on how to deal with corruption, which is derailing the progress of the country,” he said.
He made the remarks during the commissioning of Tinderet integrated technical and trainers college in Nandi County.
Deputy President Rigthi Gachagua, Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome, Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah.
Others were MPs Samson Cherargei (Nandi County), Cynthia Rotich (Nandi County), Julias Melly (Tinderet) Josses Lelmengit (Emgwen), Bernard Kitur (Nandi Hills), Abraham Kirwa (Mosop), Marianne Kitany (Aldai), Paul Kipyegon (Chesumei), Zipporah Kering (EALA), and Jackson Mandago (Uasin Gishu) among others.
The Head of State reiterated the government’s commitment to defending the independence of the Judiciary.
He however, said the Government will deal decisively with corruption in the Judiciary to restore its credibility.
“We have many people in the Judiciary with integrity. That is why we must deal with those who want to destroy the credibility of our judicial system,” he said.
President Ruto expressed concern that some individuals opposed to the transformation of the country have been using courts to derail the government’s development agenda.
“Some individuals who are opposed to the transformation of this country rush to courts and bribe judges to obtain orders not to arrest them over corruption-related charges,” said President Ruto.
He added: “They want to sabotage our development agenda. This is why I am going to lead from the front to meet with the Judiciary leadership to deliberate on how to address the problem of corruption.”
He argued that the nation has continued to lag because of poor leadership, bad governance and corruption, saying it was time to implement difficult decisions to take the country forward.
Ichungw’ah said the legislature is ready to engage in dialogue on how to tame corruption in the country.
“We want her assurance that the Judiciary will not protect the corrupt,” he said.
DP Gachagua urged Kenyans to support the President to actualise the Government’s development agenda.
“The economy is taking shape, the President has a solid plan,” he said.
The Deputy President asked leaders to steer clear of succession politics saying the government is focused on delivering services to the people.
Later, the President laid the foundation stone for the Emgwen Affordable Housing Project in Nandi County.
The 220 units project will create 500 direct jobs and another 3000 indirect jobs including the local Jua Kali who will produce 1,200 doors costing KES 26 million.
President Ruto said the Affordable Housing Programme offers an effective solution to the increasing demand for housing in agricultural regions without compromising the acreage dedicated to farming.
He said the Government is keen on protecting agricultural land and scaling up food production to attain the country’s food security goals.
“We want the housing project to help us to reduce the subdivision of land meant for food production,” he said.
At Kapsabet, the President also commissioned the Nandi Poultry Processing Plant that will handle more than 5,000 birds a day, employing at least 500 people.
He noted that the large-scale value addition that the Government is pursuing will ensure that poultry farmers sustainably produce more to support more livelihoods.
Later, he launched the Kaiboi National Polytechnic, Jitume ICT Laboratory and laid foundation for the ICT Complex at the institution.
The President also inspected the Nandi County Dairy Cooperative Creameries in Kabiyet.
The 95 per cent complete facility has a processing capacity of 200,000 litres a day and targets 100,000 farmers