My attention has been drawn to an article
written by the Chief Justice of the Republic entitled "The Judiciary
Demands Justice from Kenyans!" When I came across this piece, I made the
deliberate decision to read it as objectively as I possibly could, digest it
and turn it over in my mind before giving my two cents on the matter.
What I pen down here represents my own individual opinion and view on the
matter. I do not claim to be an authority on the Law, just a law-abiding
citizen entitled and free, as guaranteed under the Katiba, to hold an opinion.
That is all this is... an opinion! And my reason for writing this rejoinder is
to encourage discourse in Kenyan society with the aim of self-improvement as a
People.
What I gathered from the Chief Justice is that he is disappointed at the harsh
barbs he is being dealt primarily on social media following what some quarters
perceive to be judicial missteps in the recent past. There was the matter of
the Supreme Court ruling on the Presidential Election Petition which was
followed in quick succession by the High Court dismissal of the Goldenberg
affair leaving one Mr Kamlesh "Paul" Pattni, to go scot-free.
Perhaps I may be able to shed some light as to why the Honourable Chief Justice
may be bearing the brunt of a section of Kenyan society's hostility. Sir,
having been at the forefront of the struggle for democratisation, I need not
tell you that the people of our country are coming from an era where the word
Justice was but a figment of our imagination.
Justice was but a dream, ever so close yet always just out of reach. Justice
was perceived to be up for auction to the highest bidder and while many argue
that many of the transgressions of the dark KANU days were indeed permissible
in law, I submit that they remained grossly immoral and as such, they were
indeed unjust! Many died... Pio Gama Pinto, JM Kariuki, Tom Mboya, Titus
Adungosi, Julie Ward, Father Kaiser and more recently, George Saitoti. However,
no person of significance has been brought to book for these political murders.
Nobody has been held accountable for these excesses. We, the people, are
traumatized!
It is on this background, that your appointment to the position of Chief
Justice, after a gruesome vetting process, came with the promise of so much
hope. Martin Luther King Jr said, "the arc of the moral universe may be
long but it always bends towards Justice!" We finally dared to believe
that after all this time, it would be possible for us to see what true and real
Justice looked like. That came with expectations as well; expectations of what
Justice would feel like. Sir, this neither looks like Justice nor feels like
it! And to some extent, many speculate that in your heart of hearts, you know
this. Could this be why the Supreme Court judges chose not to read their
ruling? Despite having kept to your word and ensured that the Petition hearings
were open to the public for the entire six days, at the most crucial moment,
the Judges turned away from the Kenyan people. We needed to see you look into
our eyes as you gave your collective reasons for arriving at the decision that
you did. We needed you to face us. But you did not. So you will forgive us if
we treat your demand for Justice with as much disdain as you treated our
conscience's need for satiety.
Dr Oduwo Noah Akala
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