Gideon Maundu | NATION Judges Leonard Njagi (left) and Jackton Ojwang’ (center) during a break at the Kenya Judges Colloquium at Mombasa’s Serena Beach Hotel on August 16, 2011. The judges want the judicial wig done away with or made optional.
By PHILIP MUYANGA pmuyanga@ke.nationmedia.com and MARK AGUTU magutu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, August 16 2011 at 22:00
Posted Tuesday, August 16 2011 at 22:00
IN SUMMARY
- Retain robes but make them of lighter material, members of the bench tell Chief Justice at forum
Judges want the judicial wig done away with or made optional.
However, they would like the robes to remain as part of their dress code.
Judges attending a week-long Kenya Judges Colloquium at Mombasa’s Serena Beach Hotel, were also in agreement on the need for lighter robes.
Giving their views on a paper presented by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga on the dress code in the Judiciary, the judges said the robes bring a sense of dignity and respect to courts.
“We should retain the dress code with appropriate modifications,” Lady Justice Ruth Sitati said.
Her counterpart Maureen Odero said the heavy robes and the judicial wig are uncomfortable in hot and humid areas such as Mombasa.
“If we stick with the robes, we should make them of lighter material. The wig should be made optional,” Lady Justice Odero said.
Mr Justice Alnashir Visram said wearing wigs in areas such as Mombasa and Kisumu was torture, while Mr Justice Onyango Otieno said the wigs should be discarded altogether and an agreement reached on the uniformity of judges’ robes.
Lady Justice Mary Ang’awa said robes bring a sense of dignity and respect to courts.
However, Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza said many Kenyans were of the opinion that robes instil fear.
Levels of courts
A proposal to have magistrates don robes was floated. There was also debate on whether judges in the three levels of courts — Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court — should have different dress codes.
Dr Mutunga described the debate as “fantastic”, adding “we have suggestions to take up”.
Meanwhile, judges and other staff in the Judiciary will undergo training to make them more adaptable to changes in the practice of law.
The training focuses on boosting their grasp of different aspects of law while allowing them to specialise in key relevant areas in order to keep in touch with emerging complexities and needs in the legal field.
Among areas targeted in this training are cyberspace law, comparative constitutional law, business law, gender and equity laws and international criminal law. Others are business law, consumption law and intellectual and industrial property law.
This training is one of the three key planks of the Judiciary’s reform agenda dubbed “The Judicial Transformation Strategic Framework in the New Constitutional Dispensation and Vision 2030” and which judges were taken through by Ms Baraza.
The other elements of this reform programme are improvement of citizens’ access to justice and embracing Information and Communication Technology in order to improve efficiency, productivity and transparency in the Judiciary.
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