Tough speaking Justice Kalpana Rawal wants a unified vision for Judiciary

By  Caroline Rwenji

NAIROBI, KENYA: She is known to be tough on the bench and some of her decisions in court were key subject during her vetting for the position of Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ).

Appeal Judge Justice Kalpana Rawal last week faced the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee where some of the lawyers who had appeared before her and were victims of what Rawal described as her firm stand on lawyers who seek to delay justice, were on the panel.

However, Justice Rawal held her own saying: “I am not temperamental, I am only firm to lawyers who attempt to delay their cases, especially the old matters in court”.

She was nominated to be the second DCJ in Kenya last year and has faced the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee for vetting.

Rawal will take up the post after she is sworn-in Friday, having been appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Steady rise

Rawal has been on a steady rise in her career. She comes from a family of lawyers.  Her father was a retired Judge in the Court of Gujarat and her grandfather a Deputy Law Minister in the State of Kutch in India.

Justice Rawal has been practising law in Kenya since the 1970s and has been a Judge since the year 2000.

But behind all the formality that is dictated by her duties and roles in the Judiciary, the Justice is a loving wife to her husband Dr Hasmukh, a caring mother to her two sons and their wives, and a dotting grandmother.

Hers is a closely-knit family that puts God first in all that they do. She communicates daily with her children who are now residing in London. Rawal moved to Kenya from India in 1973 where she met and married Hasmukh, an educationist. She is a pioneer in the field, being the first woman lawyer to set up her own law firm in 1975.

She remembers with nostalgia how her husband supported her from when she was a struggling lawyer to the heights she has achieved to date.

Renowned Lawyer, the late SM Otieno and Justice Onyango Otieno were her mentors.

Taxing responsibilities

But in the late 1990s, after seeing her last born through university, she took on the taxing responsibilities of being a High Court Judge.

Last year, she was appointed to serve in the Appellate Court and has served in all divisions of the High Court.

She vows to uphold the integrity of the Judiciary by ensuring that the public has and maintains faith and trust in it.“All the Judges want the best for the Judiciary. My priority will be to come up with a unified vision,” she pledges.

Implementation of the reforms in the Judiciary, she says, is a challenge but it can be done. “The faster it is done the better it will be for all,” she says. “Lady Justice Rawal evinces mature, patient and humble disposition, which are qualities necessary for the office of the DCJ.

Justice Rawal would be an important supportive asset to the office of Chief Justice and the entire judiciary,” Communication from the Judicial Service Commission read in part.

Others who vied for the post include Law Society Chairperson Raychelle Omamo, Joyce Miguda, Phoebe Nyawade and Lucy Kabuki. A total of 13 candidates had applied for the position.

The position became vacant after former DCJ Nancy Baraza resigned after a tribunal investigating her conduct recommended her sacking.