Okiya Omtata: William Ruto should provide concrete evidence pinning judges to bribery

Busia County Senator Okiya Omtatah has come out to speak on President William Ruto’s recent bribery accusations against the judiciary, urging him to provide evidence for his claims.

Through his X account, the outspoken senator, who also serves as an activist has said,

He also claimed that Ruto’s recent remarks were a ploy to blame other institutions for failures in his government.

“The President’s attack on the judiciary is an attempt to shift blame for the failures of his ill-conceived and lacklustre policies onto third parties. It is clear that any attempt to govern this country outside the boundaries of the law will face staunch resistance.”

Earlier this week, Ruto hit the headlines with claims that corrupt individuals in the judiciary were undermining his administration by receiving bribes to stop his development plans in the country, referring to court cases against the housing levy and Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).

Omtatah took the government to court contesting the controversial housing levy that has seen salaried Kenyans part away with 1.5% of their salaries every month to support the affordable housing project.

Responding to the bribery allegations against the judiciary, Omtatah has said,

“I take this opportunity to state categorically that I have not bribed any judge, nor am I contemplating doing so. I don’t even know how judges are bribed and I am not so morally depraved that I can do so.”

Omtatah vs William Ruto

In November last year, the High Court directed the government to fix the irregularities in the housing levy regulation but allowed it to continue deducting money from Kenyans’ salaries until January 10, 2024, when it was to give a ruling on the tax.

A recent appeal gave the government more time to fix the issues by January 26 when the court of appeal will rule on the levy.