Dr Willy Mutunga: The man Kenya views as a ‘bastion of a fair and just judicial system’

CJ Willy Munyoki Mutunga.

Public expectations flowed like a fountain when Dr Willy Munyoki Mutunga was appointed Chief Justice two- years-ago.

The former civil rights activist bears the scars of battle in reforming the justice system in Kenya ­— including a bout of detention, police arrest and exile. He was expected to be the panacea for all the ills that had confronted the Judiciary for decades. A local newspaper columnist wrote that many Kenyans saw Mutunga as “the bastion of a fair and just judicial system”. 

Complaints against the Judiciary in the past had ranged from corruption, slow grinding wheels of justice, poor judicial infrastructure and compromised magistrates and judges. The entire weight of judicial reforms and dwindling hopes rested on his shoulders.

When Mutunga was photographed inspecting the new Milimani Commercial Court building and when a fresh banner was placed on the Supreme Court building in Nairobi, it seemed the reforms were bearing fruits.

The justice system had in yesteryears been left to the whims of errant individuals and the moneyed to tweak the system in their favour. Now it was tilting into the public hands — where it should have been all along.

However, the much publicised judicial wars suggest Mutunga is at a crossroads, playing a delicate balancing act between keeping genuine judicial reforms on track and dealing with the threat of competing interests who want to keep business as usual in the Judiciary and control the annual Sh16 billion budget.

Mutunga was born on 16 June 1947 in Kitui District. His father, Mzee Mutunga Mbiti, was a local tailor in Kilonzo shopping centre in the district before he passed on in 1985. His mother, Mbesa Mutunga, passed on in 1982.

Mutunga attended Ithookwe Primary before joining Kitui School for his KCE exams where he scored three grade As earning him a place at the Strathmore College for his high school. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Laws from the University of Dar es Salaam.

Life in activism

Mutunga joined the Law faculty at the University of Nairobi as a lecturer for constitutional law. He received his Doctorate of Laws from the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto, Canada.

Mutunga’s roots of radicalism spawns more than three decades and was inspired by several nationalists including Dedan Kimathi and Pio Gama Pinto. His activism at the University of Nairobi revealed a leaning with a group of academics who embraced Marxist and Socialist ideologies. As secretary general of the University Staff Union in 1979, months after Daniel Moi succeeded Jomo Kenyatta as president, he rallied other officials around a campaign for the reinstatement of Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o to his former job of teaching English and Literature at the university.

Ngugi had been detained by the Kenyatta government in December 1977 and released in December 1978 but he never returned to his job. On June 10, 1980 police arrested Mutunga and USU was banned.

Two days later he was charged with being in possession of a “seditious” leaflet bearing the headings “JM Solidarity Day” and “Don’t Be Fooled: Reject these Nyayos”. On July 29, 1982, he was dismissed from his university job and detained. After release on October 20, 1983, Mutunga fled to Canada where he studied for his Doctorate in Law.

He was active with Kenyan exiles and was instrumental in launching the Kenya Human Rights Commission. Among his comrades in the movement included  Dr Kiraitu Murungi, pursuing his masters at Harvard Law School and Prof Makau Mutua and Maina Kiai, both then US-based anti-Moi activists.

Appointment as top judge

Mutunga and other exiles trickled back to Kenya after return of multi-party democracy in 1991. He was involved in KHRC which was registered in 1994. He also worked closely with emerging young turks following the 1992 elections.

But he found his niche working as Executive Director of KHRC which helped mid-wife the creation and strengthening of such institutions like Kituo cha Sheria and the Public Law Institute. He raised his profile locally as vice-chairman of the Law Society of Kenya (1991-1993) and later as chairman (1993-1995).

On May 13, 2011, the Judicial Service Commission recommended to President Kibaki that he appoint Mutunga to be CJ. After consulting with Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Kibaki appointed Mutunga.

The Parliament approved the appointment on June 15, 2011 and he was sworn into office on June 20. Mutunga is on a three-year contract, however he cannot serve as CJ later than June 16, 2017 when he attains the age of 70.