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{
    "id": 366393,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/366393/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 335,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Some things have to be done and this is one of the things that have to be done. What disturbed me most when we were vetting these three judges was whether you could call what we were doing a vetting process; these are people who have been invited to assist us to go through a process. As you know, judging judges can be so difficult. You have seen that in the last one year alone, the judges who have been judged have not gone home easily. They have gone to court and that tells you how difficult it is to judge judges. This was supposed to have gone fast and we should have been done with it by now, but we have been held back by the lack of judges. The way we framed our law on vetting was quite unfortunate, and we must have these foreign judges. This was based on the fact that foreign judges would be impartial. They do not know any judges or magistrates in this country and, therefore, they will not have any ulterior motive about our judges or magistrates whom they are going to be vet. So, we have three good judges here, namely hon. Justice Barnabas Albert Samalta of Tanzania, hon. Lady Justice Alice Mahigeine of Uganda and hon. Justice Joseph Asoka Nihal De Silva from Sri Lanka. These are judges with very impeccable resumes, but one thing needs to be said; it is that if we were to go through this process again--- If Kenya is to involve itself in a similar process in future, we must be careful to ensure that the way we craft the law will ensure that we get the right kind of judges and we give Parliament the opportunity to vet them. We should not use Parliament as a conveyer belt, to which you give names to be vetted in only two weeks. The previous speaker has said that the Committee should have gone to Uganda and Tanzania. A Committee of 29 Members cannot travel to Dar-es-Salaam or Kampala to look for a single judge, who has not applied for a job here. We are inviting this judge to come and assist us with our process. They are not looking for a job. They are employed people. So, in future, when crafting our laws, we must make sure that they are crafted in such a way that they give Parliament real, and not perceived, mandate. It should not be used as a conveyer belt. We had difficulty in passing these names, but the wheel of justice must move. We must, again, insist, as we pass these names, that going forward, the vetting board must be more transparent and ensure that the cases that they judge are fewer to ensure that in future business moves faster than it has moved. I support. In fact, I see consensus in this and I would like to request the Mover to respond."
}