We’ll pay tax from this month, declares CJ

By Peter Opiyo
Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga and his deputy Ms Nancy Baraza will begin paying their taxes this month.
Mutunga announced he would soon write an opinion interpreting the Constitution regarding payment of taxes by State officers.
He said the written statement would "clear the air" over whether or not judges enjoy a special regime when it comes to payment of their salaries and allowances.
"For me and Nancy, we are going to begin paying taxes beginning this month," said Mutunga.
"I have been misreported and if I say it again, it might create more confusion. I’m therefore going to write my opinion and give it to you (the media)," he told reporters.
He termed the misrepresentation that judges are special tax payers whose take home pay will not be affected by taxation was erroneous.
Mutunga said he would give special attention to Section 160 of the Constitution to ensure that it does not ‘cloud the general principle’ on taxation and reiterated that judges would be paying taxes on their salaries and allowances as the law demands.
"There is nothing like Section 160 because we were not judges before to get taxation of allowances and everything, straightaway," he stressed.
Ethnic linesThe CJ had earlier joined long-time friend and comrade in the struggle for the second liberation, Rev Timothy Njoya and raised alarm over divisions among Kenyans, saying they are impediments to the realisation of justice.
The CJ spoke at a thanksgiving party where his Deputy Nancy Baraza, Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko, Lands Minister James Orengo, Gichugu MP Martha Karua and Supreme Court Judge nominee Njoki Ndungu were also present.
Speaking at Kinoo PCEA, where Njoya’s hard-hitting sermons were closely monitored by intelligence forces in the 1980s and 1990s leading to his harassment and frequent arrests, Mutunga said it was disturbing that the country was divided along ethnic lines.
Mutunga said religious, generational, gender and regional differences were equally disturbing, and should be bridged because it would hold the key to the implementation of the Constitution.
"If we don’t address these divisions there would be no justice and we would not be able to elect leaders who will implement the Constitution," said Mutunga.
"We will only prosper if we have inter-faith dialogue. It is important that we don’t have religious divisions and biases."
The CJ led Baraza and Tobiko to the ceremony organised by Rev Njoya, who has a long-standing history in the struggle for reforms with Mutunga and Orengo.
The ceremony was symbolic as it also brought together Orengo and Karua, who were also at the centre of the second liberation struggle. In fact, Orengo recalled how security agents clobbered Njoya as he agitated for reforms, during the Kanu regime.
Baraza was glad of the support the Constitution was accorded at the August 27, 2010 referendum, but warned Kenyans against resting on their laurels, saying they have to keep them under check at all times and give them the necessary support so they can deliver as expected.
"We expect you to continue monitoring and giving us support so that we can achieve... continue to monitor us as we implement the Constitution. Monitoring and evaluation by yourself would be critical," said Baraza.
She said since the Judiciary is facing challenges in terms of infrastructure, personnel and low staff morale, public support would be of much importance.
And following reports that some people have been languishing in jail for 15 years awaiting judgment, the deputy CJ said she would embark on an assessment tour of prisons all over the country to determine the magnitude of the problem, and come up with a diagnosis.
For the past one and a half weeks, after they were sworn-in, the CJ and his deputy have been visiting law courts in the capital city on a needs assessment mission, and Baraza said they would soon move to courts in other parts of the country.
On his part Tobiko said he harbours no grudge against those who opposed his nomination, saying they were "simply exercising rights given them by the Constitution."
Tobiko’s nomination was the centre of focus during the vetting process with claims of professional misconduct and bribery levelled against him. He refuted these allegations and was later cleared by Parliament to be the first DPP under the new dispensation.
The DPP underscored the importance of cooperation between the prosecution and investigative arms of the Judiciary, if success is to be achieved in the criminal justice system. He said he has put any objections to his nomination behind him, and is now focused on his job.
"I am not a DPP of any party, but of the entire country and will serve this Office without fear or favour. And I hope I will not disappoint," said Tobiko.
Necessary supportThe criminal justice system is in dire need of reforms and the DPP said he would be open to engagements with the Judiciary so that "we can work together."
Orengo, who together with Mutunga and Njoya were in the liberation struggle, expressed confidence that the CJ and the Deputy CJ would succeed in delivery of satisfactory services to the country, and called on Kenyans to rally behind them with the necessary support.
"I know with Nancy and Willy we are going to succeed," said Orengo and urged Tobiko to forget about those who opposed his nomination, saying they were exercising their rights as enshrined in the Constitution. Karua declared support for a process that would bring justice to Kenyans as Njoki expressed concern over the slow process of implementation of the Constitution on the part of Parliament. Karua urged the three to show the way for Kenyans in the administration of justice.
"You carry the country with you. Please, show the way so that Kenyans have faith with their country," said the Gichugu MP.
Karua, who left the Government as Justice Minister in April last year, supported the transparent manner in which the CJ and Deputy CJ were appointed, saying she left the Government because she was opposed to the "opaque appointment of judges".
The MP resigned from the Government following unilateral appointments of judges by President Kibaki, without input from her office.
Mutunga has taken office at a time public confidence in the Judiciary is waning and a backlog of cases poses a threat to the administration of justice. Yesterday, Mutunga said the backlog is a reality and that it can only be handled by recruiting more staff in the Judiciary.