Dear Dr. Willy Mutunga,
Greetings and salutations from a fellow humble citizen. I
won’t waste time on further social niceties, seeing as you are a busy Chief
Justice, and I am a busy young lady too. I just wanted to let you know how incredibly
impressed I was during your state of the Judiciary Report Launch, more so with
the number of dignitaries attending than anything. My, you have a lot of
support it seems. I was equally impressed with the state of the Judiciary
report itself, though it was a bit long winded for my taste.
Looks like almost one year after you’ve taken up office, you’ve
managed to get the judiciary to catch up with the 21st century in
terms of providing courts and making justice more accessible to the general
public plus the introduction of new technology means a greater number of people
can keep up with judicial law reports.
And while these impressive measures lend a rather superficial feel to
the delivery of justice in Kenya, I must admit, that the change of robes and
dress code in the corridors of justice make the dearth of actual reliable
judicial process rather festive.
Why, I am sure, when Justice Warsame made his initial
unconstitutional ruling against the Judges and Magistrates Vetting board,
seeking to suspend their activities, he was dressed in those new robes too,
possibly with a swanky haircut to boot. Oh I know, he isn’t as cool as you,
doesn’t have an earring to display, but still, you know, that did not stop a
high court justice from making a ruling that contravened the very constitution
he was sworn to uphold. Actually, Mr. CJ, I was wondering if swearing really is
necessary anymore, seeing as the word of a Judge is about as useful as a verbal
agreement, that is, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. Maybe, we could
allow for a freer society if in our court rooms we no longer bind witnesses by
making them swear to the truth, we’ll just take their word for it. Oh and that
will of course affect perjury laws, but I digress.
Back to the matter of Judges who can’t be trusted. Your own
Deputy CJ recently took the prize for being an astute spinner of reality. Truth
be told, (pardon the pun) she was right about the selection of Judges for her
appeal. It was your selection after all, an indicator of how powerful you
really are when it comes to the future of judges, even judges of the Supreme
Court, as was your Deputy.
So I find it rather astounding, that though the will of the
people as expressed in the constitution of Kenya has been delivered by the
Judges and Magistrates Vetting board and judges sent packing, The High court
can then decide that it has jurisdiction over this constitutional body and bar
the sacking of judges, and they can do this, underneath your very nose!
Oh I know, you didn’t hire the Judges, the JSC did that. But
then I have to question, what then is your vast power for? I don’t mean the super powers your earring
gives you, you being a man of all faiths. I mean the power of Czar over Kenya,
first person of the constitution and Judiciary, surely your office being so
powerful as to determine the future of your former Deputy, has the same power
to determine the future of obviously corrupt judges.
My deep angst with you is settled upon this one fact, that you
do indeed have the power, and are yet to act. What are you waiting for, due process,
perhaps? Shall we let this fiasco go all the way to the Supreme Court only for
you to pre-select Judges who will find a ruling that is favorable to the
Vetting Board? Don’t bother with all the semblances of propriety;
superficiality is really your undoing. Go ahead, fire those judges, pap! After
all, they won’t bother to disguise their impunity either.
Well, we knew it was going to be a fight to create actual
judicial reforms, and what you need to know is that you are not dealing with
gentlemen or gentle ladies. So kindly, Mr. Chief Justice Sir, take off your
gloves and get down and dirty.
With all my support.
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