“MATIANG’I WAS BETTER OFF LECTURING MY BOOK AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI”

Activist Okiya Omatatah has told off interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on the allegations that some judicial officers have colluded with civil society activists and political lawyers to embarrass the government.

According to Okiya Omtatah, the allegations by Matiang’i are “baseless” and  a “red herring” to divert the contempt of court charges against him.

“Matiang’i was just making wild accusations that have no evidence to intimidate the parliamentary committee, but at the same time his reaction is recognition that the Judiciary is actually working. They have realized that someone is checking on them, that the courts are upholding the rule of law and they cannot just get away with some of these things” said Omtatah.

Further more, he says, “court orders are not obeyed on basis of their merit or the interpretation of those the court directs its orders to, but as a mandatory requirement of due process and the rule of law,”

“ROGUE JUDGES IN COMPETITION TO EMBARRASS THE EXECUTIVE”  

Fred Matiang’i had on Tuesday, while speaking to a parliamentary committee on Security that had summoned him to explain the circumstances following the controversial handling and deportation of Miguna Miguna, accused a section of judicial officers of working with civil activists and political lawyers to humiliate and derail the government.

“A clique of judicial officers, this is not about the Judiciary, our judiciary has some of the finest people in the country, but a click of judicial officers have gotten into  an unholy-relationship with political lawyers and civil society activists with the intention of humiliating and stalling the operations of the government,” Matiang’i said.

“You can actually sell poison in this country, all you need to do is go to court and get an order.”

 “It’s like a race, within this clique of judicial officers, on who can embarrass the executive better,” the CS said.

MATIANG’I DECRIES EXCESSIVE COURT ORDERS

The CS went to give an example of a particular activist, who although he did not mention by name, was unquestionably Okiya Omtatah, saying the civil society activist is always in and out of court getting orders.

“In the last three years, one civil society activist has obtained 30 court orders, ex parte. He walks in court, he gets an order comes out, he walk in, he gets an order comes out, infact he could even go get an order now that he want all cabinet secretaries to  commit suicide and he will be granted,” Matiang’i told the committee.

Omtatah has said the allegations by Matiang’i are false and questioned why any of the parties in the cases has not challenged the same in court.

“It’s not true that I always get ex parte orders, most of them are inter-parties,” Omtatah said.

“Matiang’i cannot challenge me on matters law, he is better off lecturing my book “Luanda Magere” at the University of Nairobi, that is what he used to do and he was doing a great job in teaching literature,” the activist further stated.

MATIANG’I CHARGED WITH CONTEMPT OF COURT

Last week Justice Odunga fined Fred Matiang’i, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and Immigration Principal Secretary Gordon Kihalangwa Ksh.200, 000 each for contempt of court for failing to honour his summons to appear in court over the Miguna case but they failed to honour the order.

He further stated that he had not been served with any orders and said that they had appealed the contempt ruling against him and filed complaints against the judges who have been handling Miguna cases.

“We have filed a complaint through the AG to the JSC on how this matter was heard. We cannot be contemptuous of a court order we have not been served with.”