Children of a lesser god or is it the law?

The Law Society of Kenya's annual conference titled 'Insecurity and the Rule of Law' ended last week after deliberations that centred largely on fundamental rights and terrorism. The highlight was a 'gunny bag' speech by retired General of the Kenya Defence Forces Julius Karangi and the 'Enforcement of Human Rights' speech by Justice Schofield, which pulled in opposite directions.

Each delegate was left to draw his own conclusion between the two opinions. It seems this debate will continue to rage. In our view, two recurring themes came up which require further interrogation for consensus building in the republic and which were highlighted at the conference. First is the cause of the current spate of terrorism and secondly, the application of human rights during the trial process.