Supreme Court a Major Step Forward

15 June 2011

editorial

Nairobi — The nomination of five candidates for the positions of Supreme Court judges marks another significant step in realising the new Constitution.

As a creation of the new Constitution, the Supreme Court has a critical role in spearheading the implementation of the new laws.

Specifically, the Court is responsible for arbitrating over disputes arising out of presidential elections, to determine appeals from the Court of Appeal, and to interpret the constitutionality of issues arising from proceedings in subordinate courts.

Part of the reason for the creation of the Supreme Court was that the current Judiciary was insufficiently constituted to dispense justice to Kenyans.

In particular, the Judiciary suffered fundamental flaws due to political interference, poor funding, skills shortage, graft and ineffectual leadership.

It is for this reason that the new Constitution provided that the Judiciary became the first arm of government to be restructured in the first year, with its officers being recruited through a competitive process.

So far, the nomination of the judges, just like that of the Chief Justice and the Deputy, has been done through a rigorous process.

Arguably, the nominees are a fair mix of expertise, gender and regional diversity, as well as insiders and outsiders to the Bench.

But the nomination and subsequent appointment of these people is the easy part. The greater challenge is how the Court will push through the changes required to clean up the Judiciary.

Resistance and hostility are inevitable from Judiciary insiders, power-brokers and lords of impunity.

But there is no option. The nominees must navigate the pitfalls and help create a new judicial system that Kenyans can believe in.

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