Let CJ weed out corrupt officials to boost justice
What you need to know:
- It is in the court corridors where corruption has taken root, undermining the Judiciary’s ability to dispense justice.
- Corrupt judges, magistrates and court orderlies make a mockery of a system expected to ensure that aggrieved persons get justice.
Since it is the Judiciary to which the people go in search of justice, one would expect that those who make it happen are beyond reproach. However, it is in the court corridors where corruption has taken root, undermining the Judiciary’s ability to dispense justice.
It is, therefore, hardly surprising that a branch of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has appealed to Chief Justice Martha Koome to act on the rampant graft in the Judiciary. Corrupt judges, magistrates and court orderlies make a mockery of a system expected to ensure that aggrieved persons get justice.
The sentiments expressed by the lawyers are representative of the situation nationally. We couldn’t agree more with LSK Coast Branch chairperson Mathew Nyabena that corruption has a direct impact on access to justice. It is worrying when insiders manipulate the system for selfish gain.
While most of the judicial officials do an honest job, there are a few rotten eggs that abet the subversion of justice. These are the officials the lawyers would like to see disciplined. Here is an institution that is expected to fight graft but some of whose members are mired in the worst corruption that launders the guilty — at a price, of course.
It is a shame that, after palms are greased, the perpetrators of mega corruption get off scot-free or are given easy bail terms and swagger out of the courtroom to continue their wrongdoing. Meanwhile, petty offenders are quickly convicted and jailed without the option of a fine.
Corrupt court officials undermine the delivery of justice. These are the crooks behind the perennial problem of ‘missing files’. The disappearance is, of course, orchestrated to defeat justice. The cartels behind the subversion of justice must be weeded out to restore the dignity of the Judiciary. It is encouraging, though, that some of the corrupt officials have been found out and removed. The clean-up should continue.
Transparency is the surest way to enhance access to justice. The crooked officials undermining the delivery of justice from within must be quickly weeded out.
