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Bernice Mbugua @BerniceMuhindi

Senior lawyers have condemned the criticism levelled against  five judges who declared the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process unconstitutional.

Senior Counsel Bar chairman Fred Ojiambo said the attack on judicial officers risked undermining administration of justice.

According to Ojiambo, suggestions of improper motives by the judges in arriving at their conclusions have been activated, influenced by personal interests or inspired by selfishness and not at all based on or affected by the facts or law.

“A practice is clearly gaining currency that judges and judicial officers are always fair game for personal censure on account of or in connection with any decision made by them in the course of their duties and in exercise of their constitutional mandate.

Such conduct has the inevitable result of bringing the administration of justice into ridicule and disrepute to the utter detriment of society,” he stated.

Ojiambo noted judges are protected by law from the kind of interference playing out and if they are not, the likelihood of judicial officers pandering to a dominant or more powerful person or authority, and thus skewing their judgment in favour of such power.

 “Attacks on the Judiciary are in essence an attack on the rule of law. The sad and frightening trajectory of such action is that a culture of no or little actual respect for the law is engendered, not just among the powerful, but in society in general. A culture of lawlessness easily becomes the vogue,” he stated.

He urged Kenyans to maintain a sober approach to the decision of the High Court in this instance, and a stringent fidelity to the appeal procedures and processes as laid out in law.

The statement came a day after the Judges and Magistrates association condemned some high-ranking and powerful government officials for openly threatening the five judges who declared the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process unconstitutional.

Intimidation

 In a hard-hitting statement, the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA) termed the attacks misguided and meant to intimidate the Judiciary.

 “KMJA is alarmed by the daily attacks directed at the individual judges who sat on that Bench.

Such attacks are an affront to the decisional independence of the judges and the rule of law,” said the association in a statement signed by secretary general Derrick Kuto.

Justices Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Jairus Ngaah, Teresia Matheka and Chacha Mwita on Thursday last week ruled that the entire Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process was unconstitutional.