Chief Justice (CJ) Martha Koome has written to Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen asking him to reinstate her security detail.

In a letter seen by TV47 Digital, CJ Koome has stated that her security is not a personal privilege but a structural necessity.

“State organs are entrusted with the solemn duty of serving the public using resources provided by taxpayers,” Koome tells Murkomen in part.

“This obligation demands that no institution or office holder be subjected to intimidation, coercion or undue interference by another arm of government.”

“Security for the Chief Justice is not a personal privilege but a structural necessity to ensure the Judiciary can function autonomously and without fear.”

“The withdrawal of this security detail is an egregious affront to the principle of separation of powers. It destabilizes the delicate balance upon which democratic governance is founded where each arm of government operates separately.”

She further emphasized the importance of judicial independence as a cornerstone to a functional democracy.

The Supreme Court President further stated that police officers have been withdrawn from courts countrywide.

“The Judiciary is gravely concerned about the weakening of the Judiciary Police Unit, a critical component of judicial security,” she says.

CJ Koome has called upon the National Police Service “and all relevant state actors to immediately and unconditionally restore the security detail of the CJ.

She has also emphasized that the Judiciary remains resolute that, “no amount of intimidation or undue pressure will deter us from discharging our constitutional mandate with integrity and impartiality.”