President Uhuru Kenyatta tells CJ Mutunga to act on corruption in the judiciary

KWALE: President Uhuru Kenyatta Thursday urged Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to take decisive action to root out corruption in the judiciary.

The head of state said the country can only win the war on terrorism once the justice system of the country was free of corruption.

"I commend the Chief Justice of taking a strong stand against corruption, but like myself, would have to take decisive action if corruption is to be rooted out of the judiciary. Rhetoric alone will not suffice," said Uhuru.

He said that the country's security was paramount and that the government had sometimes been forced to take unpopular decisions to increase capacity and capability security agencies.

Uhuru told off those he said were peddling falsehood that the introduction of legislation to enhance security was unconstitutional.

"It is never easy to balance freedom, democracy and the rule of law on one hand with the provision of security on the other. Even democracies much older than ours struggle to find the right balance. They are however not mutually exclusive," said President Uhuru.

He said these in a speech read on his behalf by the solicitor General Njee Muturi during the official opening of the Law Society of Kenya LSK annual conference in Leisure Lodge hotel in Kwale.

Last week, Chief Justice Dr. Willy Mutunga threatened a radical surgery of the judiciary to root out emerging corruption among judges, magistrates and judicial staff.

Dr Mutunga also told off judges and magistrates that corruption had seeped back and that public complaints about Judges and magistrates had increased since this year.

"JSC takes no pleasure in subjecting judges to disciplinary processes but will not flinch in acting tough on these integrity concerns. The JSC is most perturbed by the number of complaints against judges and magistrates," said Dr Mutunga during the Judges Colloquium in Mombasa.

LSK Chairman Erick Mutua has also commended the CJ for speaking out on corruption in the judiciary and asked him to act to root it out.

On Thursday President Uhuru said that corruption remained a major cause of insecurity in the country.

"It is the police officers who have resorted to flouting and subverting justice letting suspects go scot free after taking bribes for their own selfish gain. It is the immigration officers who are mandated to man our porous borders letting in suspicious individuals and known criminals into the country for monetary rewards," said Uhuru adding that the acts of such government officials had created a safe haven for terrorism and other criminal elements to thrive.

He directed all state agencies to act tough on corruption which he said had "deeply entrenched in many sectors in the county."

"Legislative reforms are not the pancreas, the proverbial magic bullet that would cure insecurity. A vigil informed and conscientious citizenry is worth more than all the laws and security personnel employed," said the head of state.