Clean your backyard first, Uhuru tells Judiciary

International Association of Women Judges president Agnes Murgor, Attorney General Paul Kihara Kariuki, Chief Justice Martha Koome, Energy CS Monica Juma, Supreme Court Chief Registrar Anne Amadi and Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka during the launch of the State of the Judiciary Administration of Justice 2020/2021 report. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

President Uhuru Kenyatta has once again put the Judiciary on the spot, accusing judges of shielding their own from scrutiny.

The president said it is absurd for the Judiciary to preside over corruption cases when it bars its own from accountability.

“How can the Judiciary have the moral authority to preside over corruption cases when it bars its own from the standards of accountability it applies to others?” posed Uhuru.

“How shall we win this war as a nation if a full third of the government is unwilling to face the rot within its ranks?”

In his speech read by Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, the president said the Judiciary should also listen to critiques and clean its own backyard, even as it calls for accountability from other arms of government.

Karuiki read the president’s speech at the Supreme Court during the launch of The State of Judiciary and Administration of Justice Annual Report (SOJAR).

Although Uhuru did not pinpoint particular judgments, he said recent verdicts by courts have ring-fenced judicial officers who have been called to account. He accused the officers of “preaching water while drinking wine.”

“In recent times Madam Chief Justice, public discourse has been awash with allegations of partisan, compromised or elective decisions of judicial officers that are not keeping with expectations of our sacred covenant,” Uhuru said.

“In many quarters, it is being observed that perhaps judicial officers are preaching water but drinking wine, demanding others of standard that they are not willing to apply to themselves.”

Chief Justice Martha Koome Koome said the Judiciary will work with other agencies to stem out corruption culprits or entire cartels.

She said corruption strips the third arm of the government of its judicial hygiene and exposes the constitution to mutilation.

Grave danger

“Recognising the grave danger we all face if this vice permeates and corrodes the entire justice system, the Judiciary will continue to work with all partners to identify, expose and stem out culprits or entire cartels. This war cannot be won singly. We need to work together to secure the rule of law,” said justice Koome.

Uhuru said recent decisions by the Judiciary have implied that judicial officers cannot be held accountable or cannot be subjected to the same laws like other public officers.

“...and (judges) can use the dignity of their offices to close any inquiry into their conduct. This is not what Kenyans signed up for in a new constitution,” Uhuru said.

The president said all arms of government should have equal measures of scrutiny. “We cannot have a Judiciary that says do as we say, not as we do,” Uhuru said.

“We cannot have a Judiciary that boldly speaks of alleged infraction of other arms but will not its own to face the most basic accountability action.

Judicial authoritarianism

“Court should not use court orders to insulate themselves from accountability. That, madam Chief Justice, is not democracy. That is judicial authoritarianism,” the president said.

The report released yesterday revealed that the Judiciary cleared at least 83 per cent of cases filed in the 2020/21 financial year.

It further indicates that 307,997 cases were filed during the year and an additional 617,582 were pending unresolved.

Out of this, the cases filed, the Judiciary resolved 294,837, out of which the majority (207,225) were criminal cases. Some 87,582 civil cases were settled.

The new small claims court resolved 637 cases and has processed cases worth Sh362 million.

At the same time, cases worth Sh382 million were solved through mediation, while the Judiciary collected Sh939 million through its new e-filing system.

Cumulatively, cases worth Sh1.3 billion have so far been captured using the case tracking system.