Muslims split over new Kadhi appointments

Chairman of Supkem Mombasa Branch Sheikh Muhdhar Khitamy.

There are mixed reactions over the recent recruitment of 20 Kadhis by the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC). While some Muslim leaders from the Coast are demanding a fresh process to address what they term as biased hiring, others have lauded the move, saying it was proper and above board.

Those rejecting the list of new Kadhis argue the Coast region got only three positions out of 20, while North Eastern was allocated eight slots. This conflict lays bare the historical struggle by some Coast Muslim leaders to keep the position of Chief Kadhi and other Kadhis in the region as opposed to other Muslim-dominated areas like Northern Kenya.

Some analysts believe local Muslim clans from the Coast that have controlled Islamic religious institutions in Kenya for a millennium are now afraid that their centuries old privileges are coming to an end.

The outcome of the recent recruitment of Kadhis or magistrates that administer Muslim Personal Law appears to have alarmed Coast Muslim leaders who claim most of those appointed hail from Wajir, Garissa and Mandera counties. There are growing fears in Coast that the post of Chief Kadhi, which has been reserved for Coast since colonial times, might soon slip away.

A group led by Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) Coast regional chairman Sheikh Muhdhar Khitamy has called for nullification of the August interviews, while Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK) national treasurer Sheikh Hassan Omar said the recruitment process was fair as it selected the best among applicants.

Khitamy claimed the interviews were flawed and petitioned Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to order a repeat of the exercise. “The whole exercise should be repeated because it was not done properly. The appointment of 20 Kadhis was flawed, favoured North Eastern region and should be nullified so that a fresh process is done to attain regional balance,” Khitamy said.

A prominent lawyer and member of the Bomas Constitutional Conference Aboubakar Yusuf explained that the protest was due to a significant departure in qualifications for the hiring of Kadhis as opposed to the traditional requirement of applicants to be only proficient in Arabic and Kiswahili.

Yusuf noted in an interview that some Muslim leaders felt sidelined because the JSC now wants Kadhis to have a good education, including a university degree. 

“This serves as a wake- up call for the Coast region and the way forward should be go for big papers. Apart from Arabic, Islamics should learn English in institutions such as Riyadh Islamic College in Lamu. The country should also come up with a recognised curriculum that provides for the qualification of Kadhis,” Yusuf said.

According to the lawyer, the Kadhis courts are the foundation that united Coast as Kenya Protectorate and the hinterland as Kenya Colony prior to attainment of independence in 1963. This follows a historic agreement between then Prime Minister, Jomo Kenyatta, and the Sultan of Zanzibar. The sultan, who ruled the Kenya Coast, had earlier signed an agreement with the British in 1895 recognising the Kadhis courts as the area was made a protectorate.

Sheikh Juma Ngao, national chairman of the Kenya Muslim National Advisory Council (Kemnac), supported the list of the 20 newly-appointed Kadhis.

“If it’s a matter of regional balance, then Kenyan Muslims have had concerns since the office of the Chief Kadhi was introduced in 1885 as it has always been filled by individuals from mainly the Mazrui Arabs in Mombasa,” Ngao argued.

Ngao argued that only Sheikh Abdalla Farsi, who was appointed Chief Kadhi at independence, came from outside Kenya and the Coast region. Ngao suggested that the position of Chief Kadhi must be rotational and not be reserved for the Coast.

But Sheikh Omar urged Khitamy to raise complaints based on evidence on the qualifications of applicants and petition the Chief Justice or go to court instead of making public statements.

Sheikh Omar said Kadhis should be recruited from any part of Kenya based on qualification and not restricted to the Coast region.

According to the Mombasa imam, the CJ found only 21 Kadhis in the country when he took office but the number has been increased to more than 50.