Dr. Willy Mutunga certainly needs to let go of some
apparently ingrained old habits. Well, in their time, during the days of Agenda
4, the habit of public activism and rushing to the media with every minute
detail was certainly useful to the cause, but now as a distinguished Chief
Justice and nothing short of the Czar of Kenya when it comes to constitutional
matters, in a country undergoing a transition, it really is beneath the CJ to
rush to the public over what is clearly a misunderstanding of protocol and a
badly written “poison pen” letter.
Perhaps the man of all faiths should avoid listening to
those voices in his earring which his faiths tell him are divine.
It makes him appear irrational and an irrational Chief Justice is something
this fragile country does not need mere days away from a very tense election.
It all started in 2011 when Willy M. Mutunga confessed his myriad beliefs
during a debacle of a vetting process by the JSC. Right then, we all should
have picked up on the irrationality. Let’s face it. Islam and Christianity may
appear to have the same roots in monotheism, but add
witchcraft to that mix and you will find a very conflicted and disturbed mind.
It’s no surprise then that the CJ temporarily forgot that
his nation was in a transitional period, a time when old protocols were yet to
be abandoned in light of new constitutional dispensation. So when a hapless
immigration agent stops him at the airport while following orders based on a
circular, the CJ though rightly indignant at the inconvenience presented should
at least have understood that there must have been a miscommunication between
the different arms of government. After Major-General Michael Gichangi
apologized to him, the CJ surely should have soberly accepted the apology and
felt placated and vindicated enough to move on in building the nation.
However, the man of all faiths showed us all where Nancy
Baraza’s attitude of nose pulling and demanding that “you should know people”
really came from. In what can only be termed a rant, the CJ announces to the
public that he is indeed being threatened and harassed by the government. It
was an alarming announcement to make, one that instead of increasing our
confidence in the new dispensation and constitution during this transitional period
rather polarized the nation even further.
Why cry wolf? Is the CJ indeed being harassed at all? No, it
would seem not. The comedic irony of it all comes shortly after CORD demands
the sacking of Francis Kimemia, when the Minister for Immigration himself
states that he cannot sack the immigration agent involved as he was simply
following orders from the circular. Is the CJ’s life threatened or harassed
when he meets junior officials following orders? How laughable. Fear itself can
be irrational, but fearing what did not happen is beyond irrational. To quote Lemony Snicket, “There are two kinds
of fears; rational fears and irrational fears.” Lemony Snicket is the pen name of children’s biographer, novelist David Handler. It’s best to quote those who write for
children when writing about the childish.
Maybe we picked a man who lacks the patience and humility
needed to head our Supreme Court. It’s no wonder that Nancy Baraza was so
arrogant at a shopping mall. It’s no wonder that judges can believe that ostentatious
luxury vehicles are a constitutional entitlement. It’s no wonder that these
members of the Judiciary who rightly should exemplify the perfection, sobriety
and excellence of the law mainly exhibit miserable conceit, a vague grasp of
constitutional matters and unworthy claim to liberties that ordinary Kenyans do
not have.
It would do our CJ well to note that Kenyans are well aware
of his activism days, and much as we appreciate the previous sacrifices he made
on behalf of our nation, it would do him well to remain a steadfast, calm
pillar of clear and judicious thinking that is not needlessly reactionary.
Let’s face it. Though our media has come a long way from the
tyrannies of the Moi regime; we are still in our infancy stages when it comes
to determining how to put across information to a mass audience that is
semi-literate. The media often makes severe mistakes in this, and it becomes
costly to the ordinary citizen, especially during the elections.
Please your honor; do not help us make a mockery of this
Judiciary. Certainly, consider the implications before rushing to make
announcements about the different arms of a government in transition. Finally,
please just accept an apology and be the bigger man.
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