Supreme Court Judge Isaac Lenaola. He has spoken on ways judicial independence is violated [Photo|Nairobi News]Supreme Court Judge Isaac Lenaola has outlined ways in which judicial independence is violated while urging fellow judges to jealously guard the independence of the courts despite criticism and attacks.Lenaola said that the government (executive) is not the only culprit when it comes to violation of judicial independence adding there are other parties involved.President Uhuru Kenyatta launched a scathing attack on the Supreme Court judges after they invalidated his win and threatened to ‘fix’ them.Uhuru called the judges ‘crooks’ and accused them of presiding over a ‘ judicial coup’."The government is not always the villain when it comes to violating judicial independence. There are cases of private entities in commercial courts infringing on judicial independence," Lenaola said on Thursday in Kigali, Rwanda during the ongoing East African Magistrates and Judges’ Association Conference.He also noted that sometimes even the administration of the Judiciary itself is to blame, with unwarranted transfers, trumped-up complaints against judicial officers and so on.Lenaola in his presentation titled ‘Balancing Judicial Independence with Judicial Responsibility’ further noted that interference from colleagues was also to blame for the same."What of interference from colleagues? How many times do we seek favours from each other? Are superior Courts such as the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court immune from peer pressure?“Do we referee each other to the extent that a Divisional head demands particular approaches to decisions in a division? What of principal judges and heads of courts? Do we prefect our juniors to the extent that in seeking favours they even consult us before making hard decisions?" he added.Chief Justice David Maraga is also attending the conference, which ends on Friday (today).

Share news tips with us here at Hivisasa