David Kenani Maraga went down in history as one of Kenya’ greatest Chief Justice, serving between 2016-2021 as the 14th Chief Justice.

One of the major and unique things that stood out during his tenure was the nullification of Uhuru Kenyatta’s win as president in the 2017 elections over IEBC’S irregularities. This saw him hailed as a brave man as he stood against the person who appointed him to office.

In 2020, Maraga advised President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve parliament for failing to implement the two thirds gender rule in public offices.

Maraga came out as a man who was willing to uphold the rule of law at all costs. He upheld values including intergrity that was evidenced when he swore with a Bible that he has never taken any bribe in his life, during his vetting.

During his leadership, the Judiciary however found itself at loggerheads with the Executive and Legislature for having dissenting opinion.

The Judiciary was subjected to verbal attacks and was also targeted with a series of budget cuts, a move that threatened to cripple its operations. The war between the arms of government also saw the former head of state fail to appoint to office 41 judges for over two years despite numerous court orders.

Despite the challenges, Maraga was firm and courageous in his leadership and duty and to counter the budget cuts , he presented Judiciary’s budget proposal to parliament and not National Treasury, after previous attempts failed to bear fruits. This was a wise move as the National Assembly would be held culpable had the Judiciary failed in its mandate over funding.

Some of Maraga’s achievements include introduction of e-filing system at the Judiciary in June 2020,. The move was intended to curtail corruption cases, enhance transparency and accountability in delivering justice. He worked had to deal with backlog of court cases by ensuring that there are more high courts across the country.

Even as he enjoys his retirement from public service, the lawyer and jurist has proved to be vocal in matters concerning the public.

During his address at People Dialogue Festival at Uhuru Park on Thursday, Maraga said that the greatest thing ailing Kenya is corruption.

“You are given resources that you are meant to use for the welfare of the people you take it all to yourself. The truth of the matter is what is ailing this country and many African countries is corruption. The moment you deal with corruption you will have no problem,” the former Chief Justice said.

He shared what he believes is the perfect way to completely dealing with the vice.

“If I was to be given the privilege to govern this country, I will get everybody to obey the law and everything will fall into place,” he said.

“The moment of diverting funds will end and the country will run smoothly,” Maraga added.

Maraga went ahead to state that if the law is followed to the latter, there will be transparency even with the limited resources.