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{
    "id": 590879,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/590879/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 179,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ochieng",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2955,
        "legal_name": "David Ouma Ochieng'",
        "slug": "david-ouma-ochieng"
    },
    "content": "This Bill creates a quasi-independent court of appeal that is able to, within its own structures and cadres, ensure that it is run in a manner that delivers justice. What is really interesting is that the Court of Appeal has had a very chequered history in this country. Before the new Constitution, it was the highest court on the land but you do not see serious jurisprudence coming from this court. You also do not see serious case law coming from this court. This is largely, in my opinion, because of lack of independence. With the new dispensation and the expanded mandate of this Court; if we allocate them money to hire more judges, I hope that the case law that will come from that court will be such that they are able, with some level of finality, help us settle some matters of law that have been pending for a long time. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is shameful that three judges of the Supreme Court are picketing as we speak. They are picketing because fellow judges of the Supreme Court have refused to obey the law. When we had the new Constitution all the judges, without exception, took a new oath of office knowing they will retire at 70 years of age. I am saying this with a very heavy heart because it is something that is pending in court. When we vetted the Deputy Chief Justice, she told us that she will retire at 70 years and it is in the public domain. When the time for her to retire comes, she says, “No. I want to retire at 74 years” and then she causes a serious crisis at the Supreme Court. Therefore the seven of you organise and gang up against the whole country and say that you will not listen to cases; that you will engage in a go-slow. So, where do Kenyans go when Supreme Court judges decide that they are going to engage in a go-slow? It is very shameful because they have not done the right thing. Back to the substance of the Bill, one of the things that I find very interesting in this Bill is the fact that – I heard Hon. (Dr.) Shaban speak in Kiswahili – it allows people to approach that court both in English and Kiswahili. This is important because, for a long time, this court used to be unapproachable. You could go there and get more senior judges. Some of us would not easily go there as young lawyers because you would go there as a lawyer and you would think you are being cross-examined. But now, with the capacity to appear there both in English and Kiswahili, it means what we said here yesterday and Monday, that even where you do not have a lawyer, you can still approach the Court of Appeal in a language you understand or speak. For me, that is a game changer. This will mean that the judges in the Court of Appeal will have to learn Kiswahili. I call upon them to do so, so that they are able to handle cases without engaging interpreters whenever there are cases of this nature coming before them in Kiswahili. They are Kenyans and they should prepare because people who appear before them will speak in Kiswahili. In this regard, the other thing that is important is that the court is being given some autonomy. We are being told that if you are 20 judges, we are allowing you to elect your president. Once you elect him, we will provide for how he will manage that court. If he does not manage the court well, we provide how you can remove him. Before, it used to be the Chief Justice appointing by saying “so and so will be the president of the Court of Appeal and so and so will be the president of the High Court” and all that. Now, the judges themselves sit and elect their president. If they think they are not being served right, they are able to remove that president and elect a new person. The president of that court has the duty to ensure that the ethos of justice as enshrined in the Constitution, working in conjunction with the Chief Justice, are met The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}