Former CJ Mutunga urges Kenyans to uproot "dictatorship"
Mutunga who expressed his displeasure in the manner in which the abductees critical of the government were released by their captors claimed that the government can no longer guarantee the security of Kenyans.
Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, who has turned out to be one of the foremost critics of President William Ruto on Tuesday said the president is abetting dictatorship and urged Kenyans to prepare to vote him out in the next election.
Mutunga who expressed his displeasure in the manner in which the abductees critical of the government were released by their captors claimed that the government can no longer guarantee the security of Kenyans.
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"We have a state that doesn't guarantee our security. Expecting a government that is accountable and transparent means Kenya must struggle for an alternative political leadership that loves its people, doesn't kill them, abduct them, or carry out false arrests and prosecutions," said Mutunga.
In an interview with The Eastleigh Voice, he urged Kenyans to root for an alternative leadership that is solely focused on our national interests, "Such leadership must also have a vision of a region, continent, and a planet we wish to see. A world that puts profits before people must be overthrown. Kenyans must banish the politics of division along with its ethnic barons."
In his view, the KANU dictatorship celebrated its 61 years of oppression on 12-12-24, and it must be made the last celebration.
Unlike other retired heads of the judiciary who have chosen quiet retirement, Mutunga's activism has seen him criticise the excesses of the government on several occasions.
A riot police officer attempts to disperse protesters during a day of anti-government demonstration, following nationwide deadly riots over tax hikes and a controversial now-withdrawn finance bill, in Kitengela, Kajiado county, Kenya, July 16, 2024. Picture taken on July 16, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi)
When reports about the abduction of Kenyans critical of Ruto's administration emerged, Mutunga wondered how imagining the death of a President could be a crime.
"First it goes against the basic principle of criminal law that both mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus (guilty act) must be present for a crime to be said to have been committed. Secondly, why should imagining an eventuality be a crime?" he posed.
Mens rea and actus reus are two elements of a crime that are usually required to establish criminal liability.
The former head of the Judiciary went further to state that he does not know any law that decrees citizens to respect the president.
"Indeed, my reading of the constitution is that he should respect because we have delegated our sovereign power to him and his government. Respect is a value that is earned and not enforced," said Mutunga.
In July 2023, police teargassed Mutunga at the Central Police Station. The former CJ had gone to the station to facilitate the release of activists arrested during the Saba Saba demonstrations.
Mutunga was in the company of Boniface Mwangi and other activists. Other activists who accompanied Mutunga to the Central Police Station were Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Victor Kamau and city lawyer Lempaa Soyinka.
The activists and lawyers had camped at the station to demand the unconditional release of 32 peaceful citizens who were arrested in the CBD for taking part in the Saba Saba protests.
Mutunga said police made a mistake in arresting the activists, citing Article 37 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
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