Defence Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru is a man under siege for failure to comply with three court orders related to former soldiers.

The orders issued by Justice John Chigiti are compensation claims by soldiers who were accused of taking part in the failed 1982 coup, but were later exonerated by the courts.

The amounts being demanded by the ex-soldiers in the three cases are in excess of Sh280 million due to the interest accrued since the judgments were entered.

Mariru’s defiance of the court orders contrasts with the promise by President William Ruto in his 2022 election manifesto to obey court orders.

Dr Ruto pledged to restore the public trust he claimed had been lost during the Jubilee administration, which he served as second in command all through, due to the Executive’s disregard for court orders.

Ruto argued that the Jubilee government had also lost public trust due to the signing of treaties and contracts that go against the law, the interests of the country, and foreign policy, but his administration would correct that by “determining, within 60 days, all judgements and orders against the Kenyan government, and creating a plan to make sure that the government abides by all court rulings.”

The issue of obeying court rulings and orders also featured when Ruto brought in allies of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) into the Kenya Kwanza government.

When President Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga signed an agreement between their two parties, obeying court decisions was item number 10 on it.

“The Rule of Law requires the government and its officers to obey court orders and only challenge the validity of judicial pronouncements through legal processes,” reads the agreement.

While this is the case on paper, the reality is that Kenya Kwanza and the broad-based government have refused to obey court orders on paying damages to some 30 ex-soldiers.

The former soldiers had been implicated in the 1982 failed coup and were subsequently arrested, detained, tortured and relieved of their duties.

This defiance has left PS Mariru a man on the run, from police who have been directed to arrest him and courts who are after him.

In one of the three cases, Mariru is wanted for failing to pay some ten ex-Kenya Air Force soldiers Sh134 million.

The petitioners in the case were David Gitau, Shaban Mwadosho, Johana Kisorio, Hassan Mohammed, Daniel Koi, Khamisi Mwamgute, Peter Mungai, Jacob Mwaliko, Alfred Mwathethe, and Graham Wambaa.

They filed a petition in 2012 in which they claimed that after their arrest in 1982, they were subjected to torture and degrading treatment.

They argued that their arrest was based on mere suspicion since they were part of the Air Force.

The 10 ex-soldiers said they were stripped naked in public and forced to walk on their knees on the concrete floor.

They added that they had been kicked, whipped, bludgeoned, and transported in military trucks while naked and in full view of the public.

In their petition, the soldiers said this treatment violated their rights to dignity, legal protection and freedom from inhumane, cruel and degrading treatment.

In 2013, Justice Isaac Lenaola awarded the ten men Sh5.5 million each, plus interest and costs of the case.

As of 2023, the award plus interest had grown to Sh134.7 million.

In the second case, Mariru is wanted for failing to pay another group of ex-soldiers more than Sh42 million.

The third case also involves a group of ten ex-soldiers who were awarded Sh23.5 million in February 2012.