Shame that our Judiciary is making bad headlines

Chief Justice Martha Koome has a heavy task ahead. There have been allegations of rot and graft in the Judiciary for years but the latest claims have taken the matter to a new level. 

In a video allegedly leaked by ousted Nairobi governor Mike Sonko, individuals said to be a judge, his lawyer and powerful City Hall and State House officials planned the judgment that upheld his impeachment by Nairobi County Assembly, which was later upheld by the Senate. 

The video captures a man, introduced as brother to the judge who presided over Sonko’s impeachment case, in a telephone conversation with an advocate of the High Court who fell out with the the former governor. In the conversation, the advocate seems to confess that a State House official and a high-ranking Nairobi County Assembly official met with the judge to plot an unfavourable judgment against Sonko, for a Sh65 million bribe.

While the recording will be subjected to an inquiry and expert forensic audit to determine its authenticity, it has cast the Judiciary is in a bad light. But in an interview with the BBC, CJ Koome admitted that the Judiciary is a menace in and out. She cited the long time it takes to complete cases, especially those that involve corruption. It has been in the public domain that cases take a long time to be decided. 

‘Bandit economy’

Although the public card played is insufficient evidence, CJ Koome is not the first head of the Judiciary to admit that the institution is corrupt. One of her predecessors, Dr Willy Mutunga, in an interview with NRC Handelsblad, said that Kenya is a “bandit economy” and all the arms of government — Executive, Judiciary and Legislature — are corrupt.

In 2016, a Supreme Court judge was alleged to have received a bribe of $2 million (Sh200 million) to rule in favour of a county governor in an election petition filed by his rival that had been dismissed by the lower courts. A Judicial Service Commission (JSC) special committee that probed the allegations reported “inappropriate interaction and communication between the [judge] and agents of a litigant in a matter pending before the Supreme Court”.

In a matter that has led to an impasse between the Office of the President and JSC, President Uhuru Kenyatta has, to date, declined to appoint judges recommended by the commission. The President cited undisclosed classified, highest-level clearance intelligence report briefs that show integrity concerns on the character of some of the nominees. His position seems to bebacked by the endless allegations and evidence provided against judicial officers.

The Judiciary has the final say on matters law. Its employees should have unquestionable character of solid integrity and truth to Nation. The Constitution vests lot of power in the Judiciary. To whom much is given, much is expected. Clean up that house, Madam Chief Justice!

Mr Mugwang’a, a communications consultant, is a member of the Crime Journalists Association of Kenya (CJAK). [email protected]