Mutula's spirit lives on two years after his death

Today marks two years since that day we found you on your bed in your favourite home. Valhalla, where kings lie. You had a grin on your face. Or was it a smirk? Even in death, head held high, unbowed.

Your bravery, forthrightness, wit, street-smarts and independence are dearly missed. At home, in the law firm. You are missed in Makueni County. It is the first county whose constituents have petitioned the President to form a commission to determine whether or not it should be dissolved.

The commission has just started its sittings. The County Executive and the County Assembly of Makueni can’t seem to agree on whether chalk is black or the blackboard white. Kenya misses you.

In the last two years that you have been gone, so many people have died in terrorism attacks. Westgate, Mpeketoni, Mandera. Garissa was the worst. Hundreds of university students, going about their way, were felled by bullets, or were slain, as their colleagues watched. In the last two years there have been 400 plus dead in terrorist attacks in Kenya, many others injured and thousands left traumatised.

They say the police had prior intelligence of the Garissa attack. It is said they took no action on the intelligence. On the day of the attack the officers in charge were not available in their stations. The mission to rescue the students, held hostage and dying at the hands of Kenyan barbarians, was started at least 15 hours after the first alarm.

Your voice would have made a difference. If only in condolence to the victims and their families, or in opposition to the government that seems lost at sea in securing its citizens.

A week after the Garissa attack, students of the University of Nairobi confused an exploding transformer for a terrorist attack. Approximately 150 of them ended up in hospital after jumping from at least six floors to save their lives; one died. In the face of what they thought was imminent danger, they thought no one else could save them.

I can hear the outrage in your voice at the meaningless and inhuman daylight loss of children’s life under the watch of government officials. Sad times that we now live in. Fearful days and nights now mark our existence.

There have been misses. They have also been hits. The Judiciary has taken its rightful place in the Constitution. Of all the arms of the government it has been the most robust in the defence of the Constitution. It has stamped its authority on the vetting of Judges under the Constitution. The High Court and the Court of Appeal completed the Governors, Senators and Members of Parliament election petitions within the time set out in the Constitution.

The Judiciary has defended and entrenched devolution. The Supreme Court in an advisory opinion stated that Senate must be involved in determining how national revenue should be shared between the National Government and the County Government.

The High Court declared the Constituency Development Fund unconstitutional. The High Court in reaching this conclusion made one of the most far reaching interpretations on implementation of devolution under the Constitution.

The Court stated that there are only two levels of Government. The National Government and the County Governments. These two levels of government are independent. The County Governments are not subordinate to the National Government. All development projects at the County can only be managed by either the National Government or the County Government. The National Government can only delegate its projects to the County Government, and no other entity.

Two years down the road the Director of Public Prosecution is yet to complete his investigations and take any action on your murder. However, your spirit and legacy lives on Senator Mutula Kilonzo. Rest in Peace.