Courtesy of Joan Litivini
This week Kituo cha Sheria celebrated its 38th Anniversary. Founded primarily as a legal aid organization for empowering the poor through the provision of legal services, Kituo is now the largest, indigeonous and premier pro bono legal services provider. It is no surprise that one of its founders, Dr Willy Mutunga is now the Chief Justice of Kenya. If there is a common thread that can be found through the recent pronouncements of the Chief Justice is that of access to justice.
Under Article 48 of the Constitution, the State is obliged to ensure access to justice for everyone. The content and scope that access to justice is infinite and encompasses the recognition of rights, awareness, understanding and knowledge of the law, protection of those rights, the equal access to all of judicial mechanisms for such protection; the respectful, fair, impartial and expeditious adjudication of claims within the judicial mechanism; easy availability of information pertinent to ones rights; equal right to the protection of one’s rights by the legal enforcement agencies; easy entry into the judicial justice system; easy availability of physical legal infrastructure; affordability of the adjudication engagement; cultural appropriateness and conducive environment within the judicial system; timely processing of claims; and timely enforcement of judicial decisions.
The words of our national anthem are very deliberate. “Justice be our Shield and Defender” come before, “May we dwell in Unity, Peace and Liberty.” In the Nyayo days we were taught to live in Peace, Love and Unity with no justice. Our history is demonstrates that without Justice there can be no Peace. Justice is first, without it there can be no Unity,Peace and Liberty.
Congratulations Kituo cha Sheria on your 38th birthday and may you continue your great work of empowering the poor access justice.
* The address by the Chief Justice of South Africa, at the just completed Conference on Access to Justice, setting out the challenges on access to justice in South Africa is just as relevant and applicable to Kenya today.
* The address by the Chief Justice of South Africa, at the just completed Conference on Access to Justice, setting out the challenges on access to justice in South Africa is just as relevant and applicable to Kenya today.
2 comments:
Its certainly an honour to be associated with the organization Kenyan Jurist....such a rich history in championing for the cause of access to justice, such resilience even in the face of state sanctioned attacks!
The South Africa CJ hit the nail on the head "Public confidence in the judiciary is an essential condition for realising the judicial role. Our courts have neither the purse nor the sword to enforce their orders, have as their ultimate power..the esteem in which (they are) held within the psyche and soul of the nation. it is this public confidence that makes the public to accept the legitimacy of judicial decisions even if it disagrees with the decision"
No more can I say. The people must have the confidence of the judiciary for without it the rule of law would be compromised!!
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