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Chief Justice Martha Koome on Monday took office with a strong message to her colleagues that they should all endeavour to protect the independence of the Judiciary and resist any invitation to rule on any case based on bias or ill-will.
She reminded judges how former CJ Willy Mutunga said the Judiciary was under capture by agencies within the government, private sector and civil society.
Koome said this is an active threat to the independence of the Judiciary.
Judicial independence, she said, luckily is anchored and ring-fenced in the Constitution.
However, she added that it behoves every judge, every judicial officer, to decline any invitation to rule on any case based on bias or ill-will.
“Brother and sister judges and judicial officers, let us stick to the rule of law, let us do that which the Constitution, the law and our oath of office tells us to do. It tells us not to decide cases based on the direction of any party or authority,” she said.
CJ Koome, who is the first female to head an arm of the government, also noted the words of President Uhuru Kenyatta during her swearing in, where he reminded her of the importance of impartiality, independence, fairness, and power to protect the Constitution, and to render service with integrity and competency.
“These words should never depart from our hearts and the power to exercise that authority is donated to us by the people of Kenya. We should strive to be fair and expeditious in our work. We are servants of the people.”
“This continues to be an active threat to the independence of the Judiciary…the oath of office that l took to qualify to assume the office of the Chief Justice is not different from that which was taken by all of us, judges, magistrates, kadhis and members of the tribunals,” she said.
Her predecessor, retired CJ David Maraga, who spoke earlier, also seemed to hint at the independence of Judiciary being jealously guarded when he told her to ensure to remind every Kenyan that constitutional power is constrained power.
Though the office she is taking up is a tough one, Maraga said he has faith she is equal to the task.
“I know you are a prayerful woman and when you pray you get things sorted out,” he said.
Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, who also spoke briefly reminded the CJ that in discharging mandate Kenyans have bestowed upon her, the biggest task is to dispense justice.
He quoted the Quran and asked her to stand firmly for justice.
CJ Koome said she will encourage use of technology, adding that many people still travel long distances to access justice, making far-reaching sacrifices such as sometimes selling their only possessions.
She asked the courts to be aware of this.
“The Judiciary fund is yet to be operationalised, but we will continue to build our case for additional allocation of funds,” she said.
CJ Koome acknowledged the fact that corruption is a problem that has plagued Judiciary for a very long time, earning the institution the title ‘parking lot of corruption’.
“I recognise corruption is endemic and problematic in two main ways – first there are many corruption cases that are pending in the courts and this has largely lowered the perception of the Judiciary and in this regard, the judiciary, which happens to be at the end of the chain link of justice, is regarded as the parking lot of corruption cases. “
Secondly, she said, even though there are some structures for curbing corruption, such as the establishment of the Office of Judiciary Ombudsman, we have not succeeded to effectively deal with these cases.
She promised to work with other arms of government to persuade them on the need for legislation to anchor the NCAJ in a statute that creates a structured mechanism for the cooperation and coordination among inter-branch actors involved in the justice chain.
She said the Judiciary is still grappling with unacceptably high levels of case backlog despite the efforts of the last ten years that had significantly reduced the number of old cases.
The CJ promised to work on a solution to ensure that at any given time, no case should be in the justice system for longer than three years.
“This is a target that is possible to achieve if we all embrace a case management system and the multidoor approaches that are now available to us such as the court users committees, court annexed mediation, small claims court and alternative justice systems.”
She promised to work with other arms of government to persuade them on the need for legislation to anchor the NCAJ in a statute that creates a structured mechanism for cooperation and coordination among inter-branch actors involved in the justice chain.
When she took to the podium to address the judges she acknowledged women in whose footsteps she is walking among them Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima who fought in land and freedom army Mau Mau, Priscilla Abwao the only female member of legislative council who presented Kenya at Lancaster House conference, Grace Onyango first woman MP, Nyiva Mwendwa and retired judge Effie Owuor who was the first female magistrate and judge.
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