Weakened judiciary bad for citizen rights and freedoms

The Judiciary’s level of independence is representative of the rights and freedoms that citizens of a country enjoy. When the Executive and Legislature gang up against the Judiciary and treat it disdainfully, citizen rights and freedoms cease to exist because their bulwark against executive and legislative excesses is destroyed.

There is no shortage of extra-judicial killings in Kenya. Low-end housing estates, especially in Nairobi where groups of educated but jobless youth spend most of their time, suffer the brunt of such killings. Public outcry has not been sufficient to get a lethargic executive to act. While rogue police officers terrorise citizens, get involved in bank heists and highway robberies, the Independent Police Oversight Authority offers no comfort.