Treasury acting Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani says he was shocked by Chief Justice David Maraga's outbursts targeting his docket.
On Monday, a furious Maraga accused the government of sabotage, citing incidents of frustrations targeting his office by the executive.
Maraga further accused the treasury of unjustifiably slashing Judiciary's budget by Sh2.5 billion, announcing grounding of various projects in the process.
“Moving forward, Judiciary budget estimates will be taken to Parliament and not Treasury. We cannot continue begging for what belongs to us,” he said.
Yattani, however, said the Chief Justice should have not addressed a press conference, adding that it was prudent for him to resolve the matter with Treasury.
“I was equally shocked at the kind of public address by the Judiciary,” Yattani said in an interview with a local TV.
“What they should have done is just to seek an appointment here, we sit with them, take them through the journey and see areas we can mitigate.”
A similar meeting, he said, was held with the National Assembly and the Parliamentary Service Commission on Tuesday.
“If our revenue has fallen short of the target by a certain amount, which arm of the government should bear the whole responsibility?” asked Yattani.
Maraga also suspended crucial Appeals Court sittings across the country, arguing that the current budget cannot sustain the Judiciary.
Already, lawyers have defended his actions, arguing that Judiciary's budget can only be re-evaluated by Parliament and not the Executive.