Via Icpc Advocacy Press Release July 25, 2013 Judiciary insulating government and its agencies from accountability While recognizing the internal reform challenges facing the Kenya judiciary, there are serious concerns that it (judiciary) is choking off judicial review as a mechanism to hold government and its agencies to account. The consistent trend of the judiciary protecting Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from public accountability is a case in point. Judiciary should be the last frontier to coerce citizens to silence. There is no principle more basic to the system of law than the maintenance of the rule of law itself and the constitutional protection afforded by judicial review Nothing is more important to citizens than to enforce their rights of holding the Executive and Parliament to account and stopping discretion in bad decision-making as the judicial review. Judicial review is about ordinary people and/or their associational life making sure public authorities abide by the law when taking decisions that impact on their lives. By judiciary insulating IEBC from crucial accountability, it only enables the Commission to ride roughshod over proper procedures. Judiciary is a crucial ally of citizens in deterring public servants from exceeding their power and authority and/or misinterpreting the law ad applying it incorrectly. Judicial review is the only civil way to combat abuse of power and illegal discretionary acts. The arrogance of the Executive and Parliament means they are dismissive of legitimate checks and balances, giving the impression of being above accountability. This is a recipe for bad policy making and bad laws. A ‘reforming judiciary’ must be in a position to fully appreciate the unique responsibility it has to enforce rule of law as part of building public confidence. Every Kenyan want to live in a society where, when the executive and/or parliament gets a process wrong, they can be challenged rather than one where they are immune from being held to account. One measure of how democratic a political system is, is precisely the degree of pressure from below on the people in power. Democracy is so much more than voting in elections. It is about citizens feeling empowered to engage in the administration of democracy, and to hold to account holders of public offices at all times. Judicial review is a key tool in this armoury. Signed Ndung’u Wainaina Executive Director
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 13:13:57 +0000
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