When reformer Chief Justice Ndugu Willy M. Mutunga (PhD) took the reins of Kenya’s Judiciary, as its first president, ushered in many reforms. For the first time, the Judiciary saw almost nippy decolonisation of almost everything up to the scratch. His was radical change that saw some of wrongly time-honoured colonial carryovers being demolished for the first time in the history of Kenya’s Judiciary. Under his watch, there was no he goofed off in any manner as it used to be. For example, white periwigs–––as colonial carryovers that the Kenyan Judiciary among many African Judiciaries inherited from colonial government–––were abolished and thereby replaced with Kenyan dress code. However, it is possible to temporarily decolonise some minds while it is impossible to decolonise other permanently. For, right away after Mutunga left office, his successor, David Maraga, recolonized the Judiciary by returning to old colonial traditions of which is the salvaging of white wigs that made our black judges ironically, presume they look like ‘white ones.’ Despite loving colonial dregs, those behind this love failed to appreciate the fact that they have looked like those they mindlessly ape. Experience shows that we still have people among us who love to willingly be colonised as is the case in Kenyan Judiciary before and after Ndugu Mutunga radically and successfully introduced in some radical changes that died soon after he retired. Thus, his successes were short-lived. Thus, the Judiciary was back to the drawing board as far as its desired decolonisation was concerned. It had a few too many of colonial dregs systematically and systemically. There is good news so far. However, all depends on how things will turn out. We wait for the new CJ hopefully but everything kitchen sink. Provided that this year Kenya will uneventfully, hopefully, have a new CJ after the outgoing David Maraga reached his retirement age and thereby retired, should Kenya expect the decolonisation of the Judiciary or just the maintaining of the status quo as it happened after Mutunga’s term in office came to an end? It is not easy to tell given that, up until now, we don’t know who will be picked. However, one of Maraga’s haunting legacies will be his willy-nilly loopy fervour in recolonising and politicising the Judiciary. Refer to how he used to wrangle with politicians on various issues that the CJ was not supposed to be involved in. For those interested in true freedom and independence of the Judiciary and the country, the exit of Maraga is an opportunity that Kenyans and their new CJ must seize is to radically and truly decolonise the Judiciary in order to perfect the independence of the country. Times of the lack of self-confidence for Africans are supposed to be long gone. The Judiciary can become the harbinger of this very change that the entire Africa deservedly needs.
When it comes to the dress code, we need to be careful about it. For example, why should an African country import or fabricate wigs for its magistrates and judges without underscoring the fact that altering their faces destroys their identity? This is what we call cultural imperialism that some African countries are imbuing willingly in their people and systems. Why’d dress code and other important aspects of Judiciary–––some African countries still willingly ingurgitate––––depend on the person taking the helms of the institution instead of having an institutional policy blueprint of running this important arm of the government without necessarily depending on who his at the helm? The decolonisation of the Judiciary, among others, must limit the powers of those at the helms since they are fallible mortals.
Before Mutunga became the CJ of Kenya, lawyers with dreadlocks were not allowed to appear before the court. That is because they were viewed as improperly dressed. Thanks to the changes that Mutunga ushered in, lawyers with dreadlocks are now allowed to appear before the court without any worry about being asked to properly appear before the court. Instead of considering one’s meticulosity and profundity in law–––because of coloniality and myopia, the courts dwelt on how a person is dressed as if our dresses help us to argue our cases.
Nonetheless, despite such decolonisation and reform, Mutunga in his academic article titled Dressing and Addressing the Kenyan Judiciary: Reflection on the History and Politics of Judicial Attire and Address (2017) notes that “the Supreme Court has continued to wear the green robes, and nobody seems bothered by that these days. The judges have added a green sash with golden embroidery, but they are not particularly happy with the robes” (p. 155). This shows how abhorrent the situation was so as to need decolonisation. As it seems, judges were happy with and about colonial dressing code their colonial masters handed down to them. Thus, rebelling against such backward practices, for those who still buy into them, was unacceptable. Thus, when Mutunga left the office, the judiciary was sent back to where it used to be before. Sometimes, I wonder. How can truly educated people fail to see such obvious things? How don’t they want to accept that every society has its dress code that needs to be respected and upheld especially when conducting the business of its judiciary?
Without decolonising judiciary, justice, too, will be colonised. Such a justice system can’t adequately and competently accommodate and serve the interests of the people. Actually, this is one of the reasons why, in many African countries, people have never enjoyed or gotten justice. Kenyans, just like any other Africans, need a decolonised judiciary system whose practices and standard need to be grounded in Kenyan morals mores. Simply put, Kenyan judiciary and those serving in it need to look like Kenyans but not otherwise. Everything needs to fall in place as far as Kenyan traditions and values are concerned.
In a nutshell, just like other arms of the government in Kenya and other African countries, the Judiciary needs to be decolonised to see to it that it reflects on and resonates with the citizens. Colonial dregs that still hauntingly hunt our Judiciaries such as wigs and other need to fall henceforth. We are in the 21st century as we mark almost sixty years of our independence that has not been fully enjoyed by our people. The coming Kenya’s CJ must be made to appreciate the decolonisation of the Judiciary. This to be done, there must be clear blueprint stipulating for the decolonisation as one of the things the new CJ has to practically and swiftly accomplish.
When it comes to the dress code, we need to be careful about it. For example, why should an African country import or fabricate wigs for its magistrates and judges without underscoring the fact that altering their faces destroys their identity? This is what we call cultural imperialism that some African countries are imbuing willingly in their people and systems. Why’d dress code and other important aspects of Judiciary–––some African countries still willingly ingurgitate––––depend on the person taking the helms of the institution instead of having an institutional policy blueprint of running this important arm of the government without necessarily depending on who his at the helm? The decolonisation of the Judiciary, among others, must limit the powers of those at the helms since they are fallible mortals.
Before Mutunga became the CJ of Kenya, lawyers with dreadlocks were not allowed to appear before the court. That is because they were viewed as improperly dressed. Thanks to the changes that Mutunga ushered in, lawyers with dreadlocks are now allowed to appear before the court without any worry about being asked to properly appear before the court. Instead of considering one’s meticulosity and profundity in law–––because of coloniality and myopia, the courts dwelt on how a person is dressed as if our dresses help us to argue our cases.
Nonetheless, despite such decolonisation and reform, Mutunga in his academic article titled Dressing and Addressing the Kenyan Judiciary: Reflection on the History and Politics of Judicial Attire and Address (2017) notes that “the Supreme Court has continued to wear the green robes, and nobody seems bothered by that these days. The judges have added a green sash with golden embroidery, but they are not particularly happy with the robes” (p. 155). This shows how abhorrent the situation was so as to need decolonisation. As it seems, judges were happy with and about colonial dressing code their colonial masters handed down to them. Thus, rebelling against such backward practices, for those who still buy into them, was unacceptable. Thus, when Mutunga left the office, the judiciary was sent back to where it used to be before. Sometimes, I wonder. How can truly educated people fail to see such obvious things? How don’t they want to accept that every society has its dress code that needs to be respected and upheld especially when conducting the business of its judiciary?
Without decolonising judiciary, justice, too, will be colonised. Such a justice system can’t adequately and competently accommodate and serve the interests of the people. Actually, this is one of the reasons why, in many African countries, people have never enjoyed or gotten justice. Kenyans, just like any other Africans, need a decolonised judiciary system whose practices and standard need to be grounded in Kenyan morals mores. Simply put, Kenyan judiciary and those serving in it need to look like Kenyans but not otherwise. Everything needs to fall in place as far as Kenyan traditions and values are concerned.
In a nutshell, just like other arms of the government in Kenya and other African countries, the Judiciary needs to be decolonised to see to it that it reflects on and resonates with the citizens. Colonial dregs that still hauntingly hunt our Judiciaries such as wigs and other need to fall henceforth. We are in the 21st century as we mark almost sixty years of our independence that has not been fully enjoyed by our people. The coming Kenya’s CJ must be made to appreciate the decolonisation of the Judiciary. This to be done, there must be clear blueprint stipulating for the decolonisation as one of the things the new CJ has to practically and swiftly accomplish.
Source: African Executive Magazine tomorrow.
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