‘The three musketeers’ have a new competitor – ‘The Corrupt Six’. It was there all along. The writing was on the wall on the inept judiciary with goons as judges. Chief Justice David Maraga denied it, coming out all defensive on allegations of corruption in the Judiciary, a figurative of ‘the pot calling the kettle black’. He declared his judges were more than angels but hardly a few months down the line the tune has changed.
Kenyans have decried and decried in leaps and bounds about the ugly face of corruption in the Judiciary, of judges who are solely focused on feeding their hunger to gain bigger and rounder stomachs. A myriad of campaigns have been run on social media but then again the Chief Justice has cried foul condoning corruption by stating that the conduct of judges is being misconstrued. This incessant behaviour of judges has led to the suffering of Kenyans as many have experienced the agony of delayed cases with cases running close to twenty years, uprooting the whole essence of justice in the country.
Like a silver lining on the war on graft, matters are now shedding light. Corruption being a top-down affair in the Judiciary, six out of the seven judges of the Supreme Court, have been implicated in corruption scandals as investigations intensify. The corrupt wagon of ‘The Corrupt Six’ carries along the Chief Justice David Maraga himself, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Lady Justice Njoki Ndung’u, Judge Smokin Wanjala, Judge Mohammed Ibrahim and Judge Jackton Ojwang’ who so far is the latest judge to be implicated in a major scandal. The allegations range from gross violation of the constitution, gross misconduct, misbehavior, incompetence and breach of constitution and oath of office. A small leak does indeed sink a great ship but in this case, it is no longer a leak but water gushing in the ship and translates to an already sunken ship that is going deeper and deeper into the sea of corruption.
Currently, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) led by the Chief Justice has resolved to ask President Uhuru Kenyatta to form a tribunal to investigate the conduct of the Supreme Court Judge Jackton Ojwang following his close associations with Governor Okoth Obado of Migori County. The JSC held that they found sufficient grounds of misconduct to remove him from the bench. This said judge authored a judgement with regard to the Sony Sugar belt and in return he was rewarded with a road that was constructed right to his private residence in the outscarts of Migori. This judge has received bribes and has displayed his partiality in arbitration denying many Kenyans their right to Justice. The unfortunate part is that this goes as far back as 2015 and since then nothing has ever been done; and we can all attest to David Maraga coming out publicly to defend his judges and himself against allegations on corruption.
This incompetence and nature of corruption in our halls of Justice is rife. President Uhuru Kenyatta has in countless times said that we have a problem with the Judiciary. A judiciary that was even ready to throw the country to the dogs of war and destruction. It is a messy situation as judges are operating in murky waters, as what we are seeing now is only a tip of the iceberg. More and more scandals will unfold as angry Judges threaten their subordinates with guns. This follows reports that Supreme Court Judge Mohammed Ibrahim on Thursday the 21st, threatened a guard with a gun. Could it have been an outburst of anger following possibilities of being axed? Only time will tell. There are many judges as well as magistrates who must face the axe. Chief Justice Maraga is and has been slack in his leadership. The Kenyan justice system is on its deathbed. We need a total overhaul of the Judiciary otherwise Kenyans are doomed!