It’s time for the Judiciary to expedite graft cases before it

After a roller coaster year of arrests of individuals accused of corruption, the focus now shifts from the offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions and that of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to the corridors of justice and the Judiciary.

For years, the Judiciary has been looked at as one of the weakest links in the war against graft. Kenyans are now watching keenly to see the trajectory that dozens of graft cases before the Judiciary will take.

For years, Kenyans have complained over the slow pace at which graft cases before our learned judges and magistrates take.

This year, the Judiciary should make conscious efforts to reinvent itself and, while observing all tenets of justice, deal with the graft-related cases before it.

Issues of staffing should be dealt with henceforth to make sure Kenyans see that justice is no longer delayed, and thus denied. It should also take cognizance of the fact that despite the hype surrounding some high profile cases before it, the accused individuals are innocent until proven guilty. This should however not be an excuse for officers in the Judiciary to collude with the accused and set them free.

Casualties

The Judiciary should be aware that the future of this nation is squarely on its shoulders and whatever moves it makes will either make or break Kenyans’ resolve in the war against corruption.

Just like the rest of the country, it should be bold enough to take this war head on, without fear or favour even if it means that it will have to cannibalise itself since this war will be painful and will have many casualties.

It is time for the Judiciary to stand up and be counted as a reformist institution; an institution that played its role in setting Kenya back to its preordained path of a just and corruption-free society. It is the time for the wheels of justice to turn like never before.