This is a time for vigorous and positive action

In his book Stride Toward Freedom, Martin Luther King, Jr. wondered, "Where do we go from here?"

For King Jr., "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

Perhaps many of us are asking ourselves Luther King’s same question, where do we go from here? Politics has been dominating the press, radio, TV and social media stage. We all eat, drink, breath and sleep politics.

Politics, politics, politics…there seems to be no other topic of conversation. Though it is thrilling and exciting, it is also deeply annoying.

In this week’s piece, I want to put this annoying politics aside and engage the reader in an unpretentious dialogue about justice; to bring the reader into a simple conversation with a group of second year law students who are doing their judicial attachment all over the country.

The party primaries, which are almost over, are essential for the country. Primaries determine who gets nominated, and this nomination, in quite a few constituencies and counties, determines who gets elected.

The die has been cast and the Rubicon crossed. For many constituencies and counties, it seems a done deal, yet how we deal with the primaries has been a nightmare.

Ipsos, for example, decided not to do surveys on party primaries because they could not determine who would vote in them, how and why. After all, our party structures are too weak.

Membership, rules and regulations are designed for just one election, this election. In any case, nobody can claim to be a Jubilee diehard for more than five years, or a Nasa supporter for more than four months.

Looking at the reactions of leaders and supporters also gives us an ugly glimpse into the expected temperature in August: insults, silly comments and in some cases, no agenda and no previous achievements.

For some so-called leaders, the only achievement so far is to have won an obscure nomination. What, after all, is the real impact of politics on our day to day lives?

STRIDES AND MEASURES

I want to shift the focus to Malindi, where a group of young women law students, aged between 19 and 21, have spent the last few weeks working at the Malindi Law Courts, under the able mentorship of Dr Julie Oseko, the Chief Magistrate.

I had the chance of visiting them with Allan, one of my colleagues.

Minna Mumma, Sally Katee, Vanessa Mumbi, Monica Wahura, Cheptum Toroitich, Ivy Mabelle, and Jean Makaka, have discovered that law is as real as life.

They come from different backgrounds and counties. They have seen it all, but never as close, constant and painful as they have in court and prison for the past few weeks.

We had a lively, frank conversation. Each one of them had come to the realisation that what they learn in the classroom is real. But in the real world things are worse when it comes to crime and justice, for criminals and victims have names, faces, tears and rage.

Sally is a natural leader and her demeanour reveals an insatiable curiosity to learn. She said, “During our judicial attachment in Malindi, we observed the strides and measures that the judicial officers at this station have taken to better the judicial process, but also we have been fortunate enough to be a part of it.”

Upon their arrival in court, they worked with the clerks who taught them the ins and outs of the registries, an essential element of the courts, and with that they saw what happens behind the scenes of the movie that is the court process.

After this, they met the Chief Magistrate. Hon. Dr. Julie Oseko, who took them under her wing and showed them the ropes of what exactly it means to be a judicial officer. “She involved us in every aspect of her judicial life” says Monica.

PROBATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

What is life like when you work in court? We asked Jean. “Every morning, we would begin our day in her office discussing each file that was to be heard in court that day. We would then accompany her to court and sit with her on the bench to listen to the cases. After the court session, we would retire to her chambers and hear any in-chambers cases, after which we would discuss each file.”

Minna added that, “during our discussions, she would tell us all the factors that are taken into consideration when coming to a decision. At this point we were privileged to contribute to and draft the essential bits of simple judgments.”

For Cheptum, one of the most exciting things was the opportunity to accompany the Chief Magistrate to Marafa, for a prison visit and mobile court session, a first of its kind, in Malindi sub-county.

Cheptum says that it is clear that “the court is committed to promoting access to justice, a constitutional right. The essence of the mobile court process was to bring justice closer to the common mwananchi.”

Ivy says that she has also witnessed other types of sentencing such as probation and community service, administered for minor crimes such as being drunk and disorderly. According to Ivy, “this is a great step forward as regards to widening the legal solutions to problems such as congestion in the prisons in Kenya.” 

Vanessa says magistrates have a very difficult job, writing between 20 and 30 judgements per month. She has seen Dr Oseko say put in her office, with no tea or lunch break, from 8am to 6pm, oftentimes even later.

Dr Oseko, Vanessa says, “has also exposed us to the opinions and points of view of other judicial officers by attaching us to other magistrates and allowing us to work with prosecutors and members of the bar. She also intends to attach us to the higher courts for further learning and experiences.”

DESTRUCTIVE REVOLUTIONS

This entire experience has opened their eyes. Justice can fail for two reasons: undedicated individuals and bad laws. Our judiciary is close to achieving a critical mass of dedicated individuals, but we are still far from having good laws.

Our courts have been plagued with cases relating to sexual offences, witchcraft and narcotics and this year, these three topics will be overshadowed by election petitions.

This could be a scary indicator of the type of society we live in but it may also be an indicator of poorly drafted laws. This matter is longer than I can tackle here and I promise to delve into it in the following weeks.

Passivity is always at the foundation of destructive revolutions. Our youth are not useless but full of energy, ideals and dreams and we, their leaders and role models, may be letting them down by our showing during the election.

In Stride Toward Freedom, Luther King Jr. also warned that, “without persistent effort, time itself becomes an ally of the insurgent and primitive forces of irrational emotionalism and social destruction. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”

We need a critical mass of dedicated, honest young Kenyans, who can push the country's political discourse out of the mediocrity into which it has fallen. It will happen, the problem is when.