Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua now claims there is a plan by the state to neuter the Judiciary before the 2027 General Election.
Speaking at a church service in Meru on Sunday, January 26, Gachagua claimed that President William Ruto was pursuing a sceme to oust the current Supreme Court judges and plant in figures loyal to him.
According to him, the state had splurged a budget on a smear campaign against the judges to instigate their exit from the country's topmost court.
The bench would later be replaced by a lenient one, according to Gachagua.
"There is a bigger scheme to dismantle the Supreme Court ahead of the 2027 elections. A budget has been set aside through the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and the petitions you are seeing against Chief Justice Martha Koome and Supreme Court judges are the machinations of the state. They would like to put a bench that is amiable to what those in power want," Gachagua said.
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The former deputy president vowed that Kenyans would not support such machinations.
He invited the international community to observe the political happenings in Kenya and put the current regime in check.
"We will not accept, and we want to ask the international community to keep an eye on Kenya because parliament and opposition have been captured, and if they capture the Judiciary, this country would slip into a dictatorship," he added.
He noted that the recent claims by Koome that her security had been withdrawn were a clear indication of the plot.
On Thursday, January 23, Koome expressed concerns over the withdrawal of her security detail.
In a letter addressed to Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen and Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, she highlighted the constitutional implications of such an act, describing it as a threat to judicial independence.
Koome expressed further concern over the weakened capacity of the Judiciary Police Unit, taking issue with the withdrawal of a significant number of officers.
Meanwhile, a duo of prominent lawyers have been on a mission to kick Koome and her colleagues at the Supreme Court out.
Lawyers Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Nelson Havi used the X platform for the campaign against the judges whom they accused of "misbehaviour" and abuse of office.
On January 17, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) confirmed receiving a petition from Havi seeking the removal of the bench.
The commission maintained that the matter would be addressed in accordance with the established procedures and processes under the rule of law.
