Lawyers support lifestyle audit to weed out corrupt judges
What you need to know:
The audit is aimed at weeding out judges and magistrates, whose earnings are well known but who live way beyond their means, from corrupt dealings.
Senior Counsel Paul Muite, Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Nzamba Kitonga and outgoing Law Society of Kenya president Eric Mutua have also supported the planned audit.
Thus far, the vetting board fired four Court of Appeal judges, six High Court judges, and 34 magistrates.
Lawyers and the board that vetted judges and magistrates, have thrown their weight behind a planned lifestyle audit of Judiciary officials, saying it will weed out corrupt officers.
The Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board said that while their screening of the officials was constrained by the law, a lifestyle audit will span widely and cover even the newly appointed officials who did not go through the team.
Senior Counsel Paul Muite, Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Nzamba Kitonga and outgoing Law Society of Kenya president Eric Mutua in separate interviews also supported the planned audit, saying it will address what they said was corruption creeping back into the Judiciary.
Chief Justice Willy Mutunga last week asked the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to audit his judges and magistrates and determine their sources of wealth.
The audit is aimed at weeding out judges and magistrates, whose earnings are well known but who live way beyond their means, from corrupt dealings.
“We only looked at the judges and magistrates who were in office before August 27, 2010. Now, what the CJ is asking is a complete overhaul with a wider perspective,” said Mr Sharad Rao, chairman of the vetting board, in an interview with the Nation.
According to the CJ, the fight against corruption, especially at the Judiciary, will only be successful if all agencies work together to end the vice.
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The board has vetted 351 officials, firing four Court of Appeal judges, six High Court judges, and 34 magistrates.
Mr Rao, whose team is now writing its final report of the vetting, said that their record was “impressive.”
But Mr Abdullahi and Mr Mutua said that the vetting team had failed in its job, necessitating the measures now being taken by Dr Mutunga.
“That the board did not fire any judge or magistrate on the basic tenet that they were corrupt showed that the vetting was so fundamentally flawed, Kenyans lost a lot of money for nothing,” said Mr Abdullahi.
Mr Mutua noted: “Sadly, vetting was not done in a proper manner. It was a noble idea that was poorly executed and they only did 10 per cent of the job.”
