A few corrupt officers taint image of the Judiciary, says Chief Justice

Chief Justice David Maraga said that graft has taken root in part of the Judiciary.

In his first official function after being sworn in, he put corruption statistics within the Judiciary at 10 per cent, adding that the small number tainted judicial officers’ image.

Speaking to judges during a workshop at a Naivasha hotel on Friday, Mr Maraga called on the judicial officers to uphold integrity while discharging their duties.

“To be honest, the small number does not do things right and they are the group soiling the name of the Judiciary. The people of Kenya are demanding for a forthright judiciary,” he said.

The CJ said officers from the Judiciary were being “lumped together” on corruption.

“Let’s admit we are the punching bag on matters corruption and [we need to] think how to deal with the perception,” he said.

He called for their support in the fight against graft saying corruption cases within the judicial system will be expedited to avoid the Judiciary being deemed as abetting the vice.

On backlog, the CJ said the statistics showed there were more than 6,000 pending cases, with some of the parties having lost interest in the matter.

The CJ spelt out a roadmap on how to handle the matter, including sitting down with the various advisory committees and singling out cases that had taken more than five years so that they could be dispensed with.

He told the judges that the executive was getting concerned over orders stopping various development projects being undertaken by the government.

“When we issue orders and we don’t get parties to court to hear the matters as a soon as possible, we will definitely stall the process,” Mr Maraga noted.

The CJ’s remarks came as retired Chief Justice Willy Mutunga expressed confidence in his successor as one who would properly handle transformation within the Judiciary, reduce backlog of cases and create easy access to justice for the public.

In his congratulatory message, Dr Mutunga, who retired on June 16 and took over his new job as a Commonwealth Special Envoy to Maldives, asked the new CJ to vigorously defend the Constitution.

The former CJ could not attend the swearing in and handover ceremony as he away on official duty.

“The successful leadership transition should remind us that when Constitution and institutions are respected, they actually work. I believe the Chief Justice recognises the important role that the Judiciary must continue to play and would encourage him to vigorously continue on this path,” Dr Mutunga said.

While describing him as a judge of great integrity, he advised Mr Maraga to reaffirm the Judiciary’s independence as the President had blamed interference for the failure in the war against corruption.