Friday, August 19, 2011

Judiciary’s ‘cold’ image comes under scrutiny



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Swearing in of judges. Photo/FILE
Swearing in of judges. Photo/FILE 
By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted  Thursday, August 18  2011 at  22:30
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The Judiciary was on Thursday challenged to repair its image, which has been tarnished by a perception that it is an exclusive club of arrogant individuals.
Acting Justice ministry permanent secretary Gichira Kibara said the Judiciary is to blame for the negative image it has been associated with for many years due to its poor communication.
“The Judiciary will also have to address its image, which is considered cold, aloof and arrogant. More needs to be done in terms of mainstreaming public communication as a core function of the Judiciary and as an accountability requirement under the Constitution,” he said.
He urged the courts to take urgent steps to reach out to the general public and make them aware of their functions.
Presenting a paper titled: Civic Relations, Public Communication and Accountability of the Judiciary, Mr Kibara also challenged judges and magistrates to be accountable to Kenyans and other arms of the government without prejudice to the sovereignty of the Judiciary.
Uganda’s Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki told Kenyan judges to build rapport with the media without which they would not improve on areas where they are faced with challenges in the course of their duties.
Justice Odoki is attending the Kenya Judges Colloquium 2011 in Mombasa, organised by Judiciary Training Institute.
He also proposed the registration of Kenyan judges, magistrates and court reporters association to bridge the communication breakdown.
He said close working relationship between Uganda media and the Judiciary has greatly enabled its courts to move towards realisation of its core mission, vision and short- and long-term plans, including handling of case backlogs.

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