The Two Faces Of The Judiciary In Kenya, One Is Extremely Rare And An Endangered Species

Following are the schedules and operations of two magistrates in Kenya, one as straight as an arrow while the other was as crooked as the hind leg of some donkey.

Case 1

Boaz Olao is a chief magistrate who knows that he bares a lot of responsibility to the public and wakes up early to go to court where he does lots of paperwork before taking plea's by as early as 9 am.

Sometimes, he is forced to delay the plea taking as the police usually bring in the suspects late especially those to be charged with capital offences like violent robbery.

In some rare cases, the police fail to bring in suspects whose cases are up for mention and often give flimsy reasons for not availing them. Boaz castigates them for this behavior and even threatens to take up the matter with their superiors if this happens again.

After the plea's, the magistrate who aspires to be a judge one day, starts listening to cases sometimes breaking at 1.30 pm while several of his junior colleagues have already broken for lunch only to return at 2.30 pm.

His afternoon is usually filled with paperwork and writing judgments not to mention signing various legal documents presented by his clerk for urgent attention.

By the end of the day, the straight and hardworking not to mention ambitious magistrate returns home where he spends quality time with his two daughters, Barbara and Armanda who cant wait for 'daddy' to come from work.

A true patriotic Kenyan. Kumekucha has closely investigated this man and we salute you for being one of the few ho love their country enough not to engage in corruption.

Case 2

Naftali Masara used to be dreaded by all who know him in this small work station that is Machakos town. He usually arrived for work after 9 am with such a casual approach to the serious business of justice that one would think he was walking into the family business.

He would then menacingly summon his clerk who would quickly brief him on his day's schedule of cases being careful to prioritize on those willing to 'give something' to have their matter heard and determined as soon as possible.

In one instance, he received a Sh 500 bribe, about US$ 7 to set free a cyclist who was arrested for riding at night without lights on his bicycle.The cyclist however promised to bring an extra Sh 1,000 later on in the day but never returned.

At lunch time, Masara walks to a local butchery and orders two kilos of meat to take home and refuses to pay for it. When challenged, he says he is a magistrate and should be handled with care lest one finds himself on the wrong side of the law and behind bars for flimsy reasons.

The butcher refuses to buy his story and snatches the meat from him before Masara threatens with the line that 'they will meet one day when he will be on the wrong side of the law.' My fellow Kenyans, I kid you not.

Naftali returns to work in a foul mood and chooses to start mailing out invitations for his pre-wedding party where he has told all lawyers in town that he expects a minimum of Sh 5,000 about US$ 70 donation from each of them if they expect their 'matters to be given due attention in his court'

It is later established that Masara organizes such functions in every town that he is posted to and the fact is that he had his wedding several years ago. The funds instead go to a personal building project. The result is that he ended up with rental houses in every town he was ever posted to, courtesy of the "generous" lawyers.

In the evening, the crooked judicial officer passes by a prominent restaurant and takes tea only to pass on the bill to a lawyer who is seated nearby and to avoid embarrassing the magistrate, he accepts the bill with a smile but seethes inside with anger and frustration.

Masara was later sacked in the judicial purge three years ago and to the amazement of many, he tried to go back to his last posting, Machakos to set up a law practice. In a town where he had intimidated and threatened residents for almost ten years. He promptly closed the office after only two weeks of total and resounding failure. His whereabouts are unknown but many believe he went back to his native Kisii town.

The Terrible Truth: Masai African Tribe Sexual Secrets And The Impact On Tourism In Kenya