There is more than meets the eye in claims against Deputy Chief Justice

By Atieno Ndomo

Melodrama stands out as a favoured pastime in Kenya. This trait is telling of a society that seems to have perfected the art of denial and escapism from confronting underlying realities.

The latest example is the tone and vibrancy of the public chatter (primarily in the mainstream and new media platforms) over the allegation around a reported incident between a senior public servant and a private citizen at a shopping mall in Nairobi.

In typical Kenyan fashion, majority seem to have switched to mob-lynch mode, pre-empting any objective and thorough assessment of the full account of events.

Most unfortunately, the probe instituted by the Judicial Service Commission, as well as police investigation into the matter have been preceded by far-reaching assumptions and problematic insinuations curiously placed centre stage in the news. Beneath the hype, lie several critical questions and issues, including:

Who is the real victim in the tale?

The obsessive rush to side with the assumed ‘underdog’ prior to an objective verification of perspectives profiled in the media does not necessarily preclude the possibility of a carefully choreographed scheme to distort facts and launch a malicious and deliberate character attack on the person of the Deputy Chief Justice.

It is plausible that there could be a sinister underlying motive. An independent investigation should easily shed light in this regard. Giving Nancy Baraza a benefit of the doubt is not incompatible with ensuring the accusations levelled receive thorough attention, and a fair and just determination made.

Aside from the melodrama, the principles of natural justice require that the credibility of the allegations made is ascertained prior to any knee-jerk conclusions. It would be reckless to substitute meaningful public vigilance with baseless, lazy and casual witch hunting.

Where is the place of respect and honour for high office? It seems untenable that the ethos of public service reduces public servants (never mind very senior ones like the DCJ) to mere apologists who should quaver before all manner of dubious ‘authority’ under the guise of virtue.

To assert that senior public officials (with assigned State security detail) have to be subject to inferior and humiliating private security frisking in less than compelling circumstance seems at the very least ludicrous.

Certainly this incident ought to be a good eye opener for the discerning to be very selective about the premises they patron. After all, this is a matter of personal choice and individuals can save themselves unnecessary inconvenience and harassment meted under the guise of security checks.

Security mania in suburbia Kenya: time to ask some hard questions? The emergent obsession with ‘security’ ought to be unpacked and the real motives and incentives laid bare.

Who stands to benefit the most from the stringent but superficial/aesthetic security steps, which are now a feature of (especially) suburbia Nairobi. Who owns the various private security companies and profiteering from this trend?

Besides, the proliferation of private security arrangements cannot substitute for lapses in the public security sphere. In fact, a surge in private security arrangements is effectively a verdict of failure and reflection of serious lapses in the overall security set-up. After all, the provision of security is one of the State’s core functions.

It would be refreshing if the same fervour sections of the public have applied in relation to this issue could be similarly directed at real concerns such as: the State’s duty in ensuring the security of its citizens in a holistic manner; the management of the economy to secure quality jobs and citizens’ quality of life. In fact, the list of worthwhile objects for public scrutiny and agitation is endless.

I may be a lone voice in finding great difficulty falling for the rather simplistic narrative around this saga. Whereas creating a David versus Goliath-type scenario may feed a twisted need to secure a win for the ‘underdog’, it would be paramount not to bark up the wrong tree. My sense is that the real story is bound to be more nuanced than the cheap narrative being bandied about.

The writer is a social and economic policy analyst

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