Maraga must clean up Judiciary, steer reforms

The approval of Lady Justice Philomena Mwilu as Deputy Chief Justice marks the end of the delicate process of filing up the Supreme Court. It is now up to the court to define its place in the pinnacle of Kenya’s Judiciary and improve on the Mutunga legacy. Anyone who is a keen watcher of the goings on in the Judiciary will confess that other than Justice Isaac Lenaola, the other two appointees, Chief Justice David Maraga and Deputy Chief Justice Mwilu were a total surprise. If bookmakers had been placing bets on who would replace Justice Willy Mutunga the winning names would have included Justice Smokin Wanjala, Justice Mbogoli Msagha and probably Justice Alnashir Visram. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) definitely surprised; fortunately, not negatively. Once he was announced, most Kenyans conceded that Justice Maraga was a good choice for several reasons.

Firstly, he is one of the few judges against whom there has been no claim of improbity despite serving for a long time. Secondly, he’s had the benefit of having practised in the bar and the Judiciary. The latter is particularly useful in view of the unfortunate bad blood that has persisted between the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. He’s been a Principal judge in some of the busiest stations in Kenya including Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu where he performed with distinction. He may not be an intellectual giant of the likes of Justice Smokin but he is no midget, if one reads his judgments in some of the more controversial cases. He is a principled judge and was even willing to place his faith in consideration during his interview, most Kenyans avoid making their private faith public in such circumstances.Critically, in a country where we see the Supreme Court through political eyes, he is viewed as politically acceptable to the main contestants in the political terrain.