H for Hamilton Fountain
Outside the Supreme Court, at the main public entrance gate, the statue of a naked boy is holding a large fish. There has been debate about the bronze statue, with some feeling that it is culturally offensive. John Mweha Kariuki, had petitioned the Chief Justice to have it removed. The statue was put up during the reign of colonial Governor Robert Brooke in honour of lawyer Alexander George Hamilton. It was commissioned by Gertrude Hamilton and is meant to depict justice as naked, slippery and fearless as as a boy.
I for ICT
When the Supreme Court started, it was manual. However, Covid-19 changed how it operates. Justice Isaac Lenaola, who is in charge of the ICT committee, says the court expected to, among other things, buy servers to enhance its efficiency by use of technology. However, he states that Parliament slashed its budget by at least Sh400 million. He also says the Supreme Court will soon issue directions and guidelines on using Artificial Intelligence. The judge says it will take a litigant 20 minutes to electronically file and serve a case before the Supreme Court. The apex court has adopted technology and has sub registries in the country.
J for judges
The current Supreme Court bench comprises Chief Justice Koome, deputy Philomena Mwilu and Justices Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung'u, Isaac Lenaola and William Ouko.
Justice Koome assumed office on May 21, 2021, and is Kenya's first female head of the judiciary. She replaced Justice David Maraga (2016-2021), who took over from Mutunga.
Justice Mwilu assumed office on October 28, 2016. She succeeded Justice Rawal, while Justice Tunoi was succeeded by Justice Isaac Lenaola, who was appointed on October 28, 2016. Justice William Ouko replaced Justice Ojwang on May 21, 2021. Ojwang also retired in 2020.
K for key result areas and interventions
The court promises to ensure that all access to justice and that it shall not be delayed. So far it has employed technology in filing and case management. It also has established sub-registries. It also has transcription services. The Supreme Court had its first moot court and fora to build bonding and collegiality as a way of entrenching mentoring and peer review. Some key interventions that are pending include a proposal to amend the Constitution to increase the number of Judges to nine.
L for lack of financial autonomy
The Supreme Court, just as other units of the Judiciary, has limited control over its resources. There have been instances where the Court's resources have been diverted to other Judiciary activities.
M for mission of the court
To protect and uphold the Constitution, interpret the law in an impartial, just, accessible and timely manner, enhance public trust and confidence and develop rich jurisprudence that facilitates social, economic and political growth in Kenya.
N for no automatic 50-50 matrimonial property sharing
The Supreme Court last year settled a contentious issue of whether spouses should automatically share wealth generated equally or one should get a share based on the contribution to the marriage. The court ruled that although the law guarantees marriage equality and it is assumed that couples share everything, it does not mean that one will walk away with an equal half of the wealth generated.
O for oath
Did you know that the oath of a Supreme Court judge is 146 words?
P for provincial headquarters, prisons and police
The Supreme Court building was initially used as a provincial headquarters. It also housed inland revenue offices, the Chief Justice, the registrar, the East African Court of Appeal, and High Courtrooms. At the ground floor were magistrate's chambers while the basement had prisons and police cells where offenders were held before appearing in court.
Q for quorum glitches
The Court is composed of seven judges, and for its proceedings, the quorum is five, which remains a challenge. There are occasions when the court is unable to raise the requisite majority for its proceedings. The problem is compounded by the engagement of two judges as commissioners of JSC. Consequently, the lack of a requisite quorum led to delays in clearance of cases.
R for Raila
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has three times been at the Supreme Court, challenging presidential election processes and tallying of results. In the first instance, in 2013, he said the election was not conducted in a free, transparent and fair manner. The court ruled against the petition.
In 2017, he filed a second case, this time round winning after IEBC failed to open the servers. He then challenged the re-run which was dismissed. In 2022, he challenged President William Ruto's win which was also dismissed.
S for strength and shifting public opinion
The Supreme Court has judges drawn from different professional specialties and experience as its foremost strength. The court has clear procedures, and judges are collegial. However, its decisions' predictability, consistency, and certainty are still unclear. Critics insist that each judge should write his or her judgment to know their stand and philosophy.
T is for today
The Supreme Court building is 93 years old today. Its foundation stone was laid by Sir Edward Grigg, Governor of Kenya colony, on July 7, 1930, and was built in 1931. The building was classified as a national monument on December 1, 1995.
U for upset
Former Rarieda MP Raphael Tuju is the first litigant to have been technically locked out of the Supreme Court after five judges opted to recuse themselves following cases filed before JSC accusing them of lack of impartiality. Did he upset them?
V for vision of the court
The vision of the Supreme Court is to be a trusted apex court that protects the Constitution, sovereignty of the people of Kenya, rule of law and enhances jurisprudence.
W for weaknesses
Inadequate library and information resources, restrictive composition of seven judges, insufficient human resource capacity, low stakeholder engagement, limited media engagement and lack of financial autonomy have been cited as some of the Supreme Court's weaknesses.
X for rare letter
X is perhaps the most rare or uncommon letters to use at the start of a word. So far no one has made a buzz by using the words that have an X as the first letter before Supreme Court. Words such as amicus curiae (friend of the court) emerged during hearings and have become the vocabulary of the town.
Y for years
The Supreme Court is now 12 years. Deputy President Kithure Kindiki jokingly said that it is now approaching teenage hood.
Z for zip
We now zip the bag about what you should know about the Supreme Court.