The desire to genuinely belong and be fully accepted is at the centre of our daily interaction with fellow human beings.
That is why constitutions are about securing not only our peaceful coexistence with others, it is also intended to secure our side of the social contract with the State.
The relationship between the Government and citizens sit at the very centre of the Constitution forming the whole chapter on bill of rights and many other articles.
Contrary to popular belief, governments (the Executive) rarely exist to foster and uphold the liberty of citizens. Given a chance, most governments would rather be biased towards enforcing security and order; matters that are for the most part diametrically opposed to civil liberties.
Differences between the Executive and the Judiciary or the legislature are to be expected. Kenya is merely at the nascent stages of the democratic experiment. Contrary to popular belief, we have never had a democracy. True we may have had elected governments since independence.
Yet an election where there is no separation of powers between the three branches of Government is a mere routine exercise. Unless the Government is able to check itself and be subjected to constant scrutiny by the Fourth Estate (the media), it is in vain that we take pride in the judicial and legislative process.
The Executive has of late found itself constantly irked by court rulings.
In a mature democracy, this need not be. Chapter ten article 165 gives the High Court “jurisdiction to hear any question respecting the interpretation of this Constitution.”
More fundamentally, it allows the court to determine “whether anything said to be done under the authority of this Constitution or of any law is inconsistent with, or in contravention of this Constitution.”
Former America Jurist Oliver Wendel Holmes when admonished by a friend to make sure he did justice retorted that his work was to uphold the law.
The vetting of judges and magistrates is still on. We have seen judge’s severely punished for errors in judgement, laziness and giving skewed judgements in favour of the Government of the day.
History can show that the Judiciary elsewhere has at certain stages of its life seen it fit to make politically correct judgements.
