Justice Mumbi Ngugi congratulated by the President upon being sworn in as Judge of the High Court
I was sworn in
today, 2nd September 201,1 as a judge of the High Court of
Kenya. As part of a team of 27 HighCourt Judges, I join the bench, after a competitive, rigorous and transparent process
under a new Constitutional dispensation that values freedom, transparent,
accountability and all those national values set out in Article 10 of the Constitution. I have of course been reflecting on what
happens to this blog. For me, it has
been a labour of love and a space where I can think aloud without the usual
constraints that accompany old media. As
an advocate I had the freedom to think aloud and make comments on any issue. My current position now makes this difficult. Judicial service comes with an obligation to be independent, impartial. A opinion blog like may lead the public to a different conclusion.
The Public Officers Ethics Act, 2003 (No. 4 of 2003) Judicial Service Code of
Conduct and Ethics established by the Judicial Service Commission under section
5(1) of the Act provides as follows;
RULE 14
PUBLIC STATEMENTS AND COMMUNICATION WITH THE
PRESS
1. A judicial
officer and any officer in the Judicial Service shall not make public statements on matters affecting Government
programmes or policies of the Judicial Service without the specific
authority of the Chief Justice. A public statement includes communicating with
the press;
2. A judicial officer shall not, without express permission
of the Chief Justice:
(a) act as the editor of any newspaper or take part directly
or indirectly in the management thereof; nor
(b) publish in any
manner anything which may be reasonably regarded as of a political or
administrative nature, whether under his own name, under a pseudonym or
anonymously.
3. A judicial
officer, and any officer in the Judicial Service whether on duty or on leave of
absence, should not allow himself to be interviewed on questions of public
policy affecting Kenya or any other country without the permission of the Chief
Justice.
4. Whilst it is
not desired to interfere with a judicial officer’s liberty of free speech, any
lack of discretion on his part likely to embarrass the Government or the
Judicial Service may result in appropriate consequences for the officer
responsible.
This is not a easy or simple matter as Article 168 of the Constitution provides that a judge of a superior court may be removed from office only on grounds of, "a breach of a code of conduct prescribed for judges of the superior courts by Act of Parliament."
I hope that in the future that this
there will be discussion how judicial officers can contribute to public
discourse about administration of justice and rule of law, of course having
regard to their ethical obligations to be independence. After all, the Constitution provides that
judicial authority is derived from the people in whose name it is exercised.
Thank you all for your support in immeasurable
ways. The proceedings on this blog are
now adjourned sine die ….
