Kenya CJ opens up on social justice, constitutional reforms

He was the first person to serve as Chief Justice since Kenya’s constitution was rewritten in 2010, taking up the post in June 2011, and later retired from the judiciary in June 2016 and also doubled as the President of the Supreme Court of Kenya under the new 2010 constitution in his book titled ‘Beacons of Judiciary Transformation’

Beacons of Judiciary Transformation contain over 60 speeches, judicial opinions, and academic articles of CJ Mutunga written during his tenure as Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya.

In the book, the former Chief Justice shares his views and philosophy on social justice, constitutionalism, democracy, and equality.

Speaking during the launch of the book, the former Chief Justice of Tanzania Mohamed Chande Othman described Mutunga as a colleague and mentor who played an instrumental part in shaping judicial reforms.

“Willy has been very close to the judiciary of Tanzania. He shared his views on the process of the constitutional review process with the Warioba Commission,” he said.

He noted that Mutunga went through a very transparent, competitive merit-based process with the public participating fully and took over the role with a track record of credentials from academia, human rights, civil society leadership and legal aid. Most surprising is he remained a favorite advocate of constitutionalism.

‘If it were with the same credentials here in Tanzania, there would be an esoteric next to his name and he would be termed as an ‘outsider’ as he was externally sourced. That’s judicial culture,” he noted

Justice Othman said Mutunga had a strategic vision to transform the judiciary which was very compelling in Kenya and make it independent of the executive.

“During the constitution building process, Kenyans wanted all the judges and magistrates sacked. He came with a vision and strategic framework to decolonize the judiciary. There were some quick wins and it is interesting that his judicial transformation was carried on,” he added.

He noted that Mutunga was also instrumental in guarding the constitution of Kenya, ensuring abidance to the rule of law and protecting the independence of the judiciary.

“Just before his departure, he addressed the senate in Kenya and explained to them that it was not the court that is activist, but it is the constitution that is activist. He believed in constructive engagement urging that supremacy wars really don’t serve the mwananchi,” he added.

On his role in fighting corruption, the retired CJ Othman said Mutunga played part in prevention of corruption and integrity adding that there was a lot of work done to eradicate the rot in the judicial system.

Commenting on the book, Justice Othman said Mutunga’s generous work shares valuable lessons for us all.

“The book gives important insight through personal experiences of judicial matters in Kenya with relevance for the East African region and continent at large,” he said.

Tanzania’s former Prime Minister and Vice President, Judge Joseph Warioba said Mutunga’s knowledge is “valuable for judiciary transformation and should serve as a reminder that the law goes hand in hand with human rights.

“It is anticipated that the book will stir public debate on key legal and political questions of our time by providing first-hand information on important legal matters,” he said.

Speaking during the same event, CJ Mutunga said he owed his career growth to the University of Dar Es Salaam where he enrolled in law.

Commenting on the disputed presidential election petition of 2013, CJ Mutunga said presidential elections in Kenya cannot be accepted under the pretext of divisionism.

“I have written about it somewhere in this book but all I can say is that even if you get Solomon to come and listen to that petition, he would still be chased out of town. You cannot have a Supreme Court decide with the decision accepted under the pretext of division. Media was not happy with me and I was called all sorts of names,” he recalled.

He said the court decision gave him a lot of spotlight and gave him more importance than even the president himself adding that he feared he would have been stormed if he had stepped a foot where he comes from.

“The decision was very difficult. We delivered it in ten minutes and actually people believe it was my decision yet it was a decision of six members. We gave all the documents to universities so the debate continues. On twitter, someone named me the Chief Injustice after the decision so we actually asked ourselves why judges are referred to as justice,” he said.

Commenting on the issue of fighting corruption, CJ Mutunga said some of his colleagues got into trouble for fighting corruption yet spouses, relatives were busy engaging in corruption.

“We worked as a team and this was not a one-man show. It was actually collective intellect. This was work of a team of professionals

CJ Mutunga noted that he would be launching his book later this year titled, ‘The Studied Justice ‘

The Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Strategic Litigation, Deus Valentine Rweyemamu, said he looks forward to seeing the book act as an important reference for practicing lawyers, members of the bench as well as legal scholars and academics in Tanzania and the region.

“We are pleased that CSL has been able to host an important conversation through this timely book on the rule of law, democracy and social justice in Africa. The book is well-written and easy to follow thus making it relevant for readers both in and outside legal practice. It is hugely fitting to the work of CSL in promoting a civic and political culture where the law is supreme, and the constitution and human rights are respected.”

CJ Mutunga had a decorated career as a leading public intellectual, legal scholar, social justice activist, lawyer, and jurist. His outstanding career owes to his training and academic work through the Universities of Dar es Salaam, Nairobi as well as at the York University in Canada.

The former law lecturer spent his formative years at the University of Dar es Salaam where he trained in law before pursuing a career in academia.

He has also advised on constitutions of several other countries including the Gambia and served as the Commonwealth envoy in the Maldives.

Under his tenure as Chief Justice from 2011 to 2016, Mutunga sought to lay permanent and indestructible foundations for the transformed judiciary.

Under the blueprint of the Kenyan Judiciary Transformation Framework 2012 – 2016, he achieved impressive progress in bringing the justice system closer to ordinary people.

Not only did he succeed in humanizing the Kenyan judicial systems, he also reduced the number of case backlogs significantly. He aimed to use technology as an enabler of justice, as well as to bring about equitable and transparent systems of recruitment, promotions and training.

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