Why I fear for Chief Justice Mutunga

By KIPKOECH TANUI

I can confess this now that Chief Justice Willy Mutunga is in office - I longed for and was elated by his appointment. I still share in optimism of many Kenyans that he is the best bet to sweep away the muck in our corroded and corrupt Judiciary, and give it a new soul.

His simplicity, razor-sharp mind, proven commitment to the ethos of justice and hard work, and democratic ideals make him a popular chap. But the question we need to ask is among whom, for how long, and what does he need to do to always keep this pool of faith in him overflowing?

I confess I am slowly beginning to worry for this man, first because stardom is like fashion and beauty contest – it keeps changing. The common denominator to all euphoric victories is that the higher the mountain of expectation and hope in one, the higher the sense of frustration and disappointment when they are not met by the target of that collective love and adoration.

It is also true the more we trust someone, the more our impatience when he seems not to meet our expectations. That is why Kenyans judged Kanu less harshly than the National Rainbow Coalition.

When the rivers of dashed hopes, streams of unrealistic expectations, and tributaries of filth churned by the corrupt and incurable pessimists, form a confluence, the person we once loved may just be swept away as we clap. That person is Mutunga, who Kenyans hired to open a new chapter for us and who seems to be still on the first page.

We all know what happened in 2003, in the first few weeks of President Kibaki in office, when we sung Yote Yawezakana Bila Moi! We even lynched traffic policemen taking bribes! Kibaki then embodied the new Kenya...but that lasted until he trashed the memorandum that brought him to power and when it turned out his administration had one motto – it is our turn to eat! When questioned, they unflinchingly retorted that it was also done during Kanu days!

Corrupt networks

I have this confidence Mutunga will not let corruption flourish underneath him because of his record, but again I have this lurking fear the corrupt networks in the Judiciary, starting with the registry where files have a way of disappearing until you grease someone’s palms, will sabotage him by delaying the clean up for ages, by which time we could be singing Yote Yawezakana Bila Mutunga!

My biggest fear for Mutunga is anchored in the fact there is not much he can do on his own even if we fired all the judges and magistrates. His success, as he conceded during his swearing in, relies on the people he will work with for he is just a steward. If they resist change, and the Kibaki-Raila axis denies him the requisite political will to uproot the stump of corruption that has defied many hands and jembes, then he will be dead meat. It does not matter the generous doses of safeguards we give him from the Constitution because they only work well with cultural and attitude change. Mutunga also seems to know his friends but not so his enemies, yet the second lot are the people he needs to outsmart and outpace everyday till 2019.

His enemies are the same ones slowing implementation of the Constitution and who voted for him not because they liked him but because they needed his good shoulders to hoist someone whose record had been dented badly across the murky river. They also include those who openly opposed the Constitution because they do not believe in it, and those who only supported it because of public opinion and political exigency.

Mutunga should know that much as judicial staff smile and praise him, behind his back they spit in disgust. Why? He is going to kick away their feeding trough that is replenished by corruption. Most are also a conservative lot who hate studs and rasta hair, which reminds them of a dead gangster by that name!

So when Mutunga makes such personal statements like having no problem with stud-wearing and rasta-haired lawyers appearing before courts, he is giving them nails to make a crude bomb to be used against him.

We must also remind him some of the hopes Kenyans have are impractical and unrealistic but this won’t stop them from getting tired with him when he does not satisfy them overnight. They do not know he is a lone warrior we have sent to kill the ogres of corruption and these may just consume him. We must hope he will take the necessary precautions so as not to be a study on the monumental failure encapsulated in the saying; A new broom sweeps clean, but the old broom knows all the corners.

Flame of hope

What Mutunga needs to do now, before winds of impatience and disappointment extinguish the flame of hope is to speak less, profile his enemies more, cut back on irrelevancies such as wigs, ear rings and hairstyles, then concentrate on the bigger problem — overhauling the Judiciary.

Demystifying the Judiciary is one thing, giving it a new soul is something else. His priority is setting up efficient systems and hiring credible people who will keep the wheels of justice turning fast and flawlessly. How he will perform before the hopes of Kenyans thaw is what he hired him to do, what he promised to achieve, and what needs our support the most.

But he must remember the merchants of corruption, dirty business and politics are not toasting to him and never will. That is how serious he needs to take this office till 2019!

The writer is Managing Editor, Daily Editions, at The Standard.

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