Why Ogoti’s ruling on bail application by NYS corruption suspects provides the hope Kenya needed

“I find that the charges facing the accused persons are grave offenses affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country and in the opinion of the court, which can lead to anarchy, threat to peace and threat to national security. This in itself is a compelling reason why bail should and is hereby denied,”

Those were words uttered by Nairobi Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti on the occasion of the ruling on an application for bail by some 43 Kenyans accused of stealing millions of shillings belonging to fellow Kenyans through the infamous National Youth Service.

The ruling came some eight days after the suspects were rounded up in another dramatic onslaught on graft. It was awaited by various people for various reasons and when it came, it surprised various people for various reasons. 

I was pleasantly surprised!

The courts have, of late, been accused, pun intended, of being overly lenient in setting bail terms for many suspects brought before them on various charges especially by the State. Those in the real national security sector have been the main culprits, or beneficiaries depending on which side of the divide one stands, of the leniency on bail terms. Anti-terror agencies have particularly complained that suspects get away so easily whenever they are taken to court and are released back to their hideous ways too soon on easy bail terms despite the mortal danger they pose to society.

The Executive, led by none other than the President himself, is on record voicing concerns that the Judiciary, and to an extent the law, was a bit too lenient to the lawbreakers. The best I expected and hoped for from the Ogoti-led court on Tuesday was some prohibitive bail conditions. I got better. I have always held, and I still do, that courts and the decisions they make hold the key to reducing and even eliminating the appetite for crime in this country. The Executive and Legislature are important cogs in the search for justice but the Judiciary is crucial.

Though I do not hold brief for the prosecution, and I have nothing personal against the accused, I celebrate the decision by Mr Ogoti to deny the 43 bail. It is a milestone in inculcating abhorrence to crime in the country. The accused might be innocent, but the mere suspicion must carry some scaring aspects to be feared and avoided. And that is what Ogoti’s decision communicates.

And it is not only in the final decision that I delight. I also get much satisfaction in the reasons the magistrate gave for taking the move not to allow the presumably innocent to attend the case process from the comforts of their homes and business. The good magistrate cited the hitherto an undeclared reality that corruption is more destructive, more dangerous and more harmful than robbery with violence, murder and rape put together.

In reality, large-scale corruption, the charge the 43 individuals are in court for is equal to terrorism. It destroys lives indiscriminately. The young and the old, the guilty and the innocent, black and white corruption devours all. When money meant to train doctors and by medicines is embezzled, the sick die. When money meant to secure food is stolen, the masses starve. When money set aside for roads and air safety ends up in the pockets of a connected hairdresser, travelers perish in accidents. It is that bad. And that is why everyone must agree with Ogoti when he says:

 “The entire community is aggrieved if the economic offenders who ruin the economy of the state are not brought to book. A murder may be committed in the heat of the moment upon passions being aroused. An economic offense is committed with cool calculation and deliberately designed with an eye on personal profit regardless of the consequence of the community. A disregard for the interest of the community can be manifested only at the cost of forfeiting the trust and faith of the community in the system administering justice in an even hindered manner without fear of criticism from the quarters which view white collar crimes with a permissive eye unmindful of the damage done to the national economy and national interest’’.

Where has this Ogoti been all these years?

It will be interesting to watch how this case proceeds from now on. But whichever way it goes, in this Tuesday determination on the bailability of the suspects, lies a lifetime lesson for us all. And a beacon of hope in humanity.

This is the real redemption of the Judiciary. We can only hope for a better future in the desired harmony between the Presidency, Parliament and the courts. 

Patrick Mureu is a teacher who comments on socio-political issues

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