Sunday, June 23, 2013

Githu: How Naked Ape changed me and why I’ve no grudge against Raila

Despite opposing his nomination for the job, Attorney-General Githu Muigai remains a good neighbour of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Prof Muigai thinks that ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda could learn a thing or two from John Rawls’s book A Theory of Justice.
Q: As a scholar, how did you manage to transit smoothly into the murky world of politics that’s largely devoid of principles?
My transition has not been smooth. You know in academia, you deal with theory — the ideal world. This is an office with far greater complexity and I am still learning. The learning curve has been steep.
Q: Are you still engaged academically? Do you get time to read?
Yes I am actively engaged. Last year, I edited a book Arbitration and Law Practice in Kenya. I am also currently compiling a book on the Constitution of Kenya, which has contributions from judges and lawyers; academics are also contributing to the book.
Q: What is the most transformative book you have ever read?
The Naked Ape by Desmond Harris. It is a book I first read in my first year at university and it changed my outlook completely. It basically teaches that man is an animal and that if you seek to understand man, then you must study his closest relative — the ape.
Q: What are you reading now?
I am now reading The Most Dangerous Branch: How the Supreme Court of Canada Has Undermined Our Law and Our Democracy by Robert Ivan Martin. (A devastating critique, Martin believes that the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada are “a collection of arrogant and unprincipled poseurs, largely out of control” who “amend the Constitution at will” with “capricious, arbitrary, unpredictable, and largely ad hoc” decisions.) But I read many books at the same time.
I am also reading Guns, Gems and Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 1300 years by Jared Diamond. The other is Why Should Anyone be Led by You? by Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones and Gideon’s Spies by Gordon Thomas: It tells the inside story of Mossad, Israel’s legendary secret service.
I am also reading Say No to Diabetes by the British nutritionist and author Patrick Holford.
Q: That is quite a bibliography, yet the Office of the Attorney General is a busy one. When do you find time to read?
I read for about two hours just before I sleep. I put music on the iPad and that is my most conducive environment for reading.
Q: What kind of books would you never touch?
I have absolutely no faith in self-help books, which purport to dispense solutions to Kenyan problems from thousands of miles away. Living is a practical.
Q: It has been suggested that there are no serious books coming out of Kenya any more.
There are some young provocative writers like Binyavanga (Wainaina). Unfortunately now I don’t get to read a lot of fiction. I have also read Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s two-part autobiography — Dreams in a Time of War and In the House of the Interpreter.
Q: You are a teacher of law. What is your rating of today’s crop of lawyers in terms of intellectual rigour? Your colleague Ahmednasir Abdullahi has dismissed fresh law graduates as half-baked. Do you share the view?
There are now seven law schools in the country and the truth is that there are simply not enough top-notch law professors and resources to go round. They are spread thin. The majority of our law graduates, therefore, are in dire straits. Indeed, the only saving grace is that the crème de la crème, perhaps only 20 per cent, is still up there.
Q: There has been a view that the ICC is unfair to Africa; that its justice is selective.
I wouldn’t say it is unfair, but there are many other compelling cases across the globe that if the court exercised its jurisdiction uniformly, it would have taken action. A case in point is Syria where there is a perfect example of war crimes taking place. Unfortunately, a majority of the cases pending before it are from our continent.
Q: Which book would you recommend to International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda?
John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice. She will be able to understand the multiple character of justice.
Q: You have been accused of frustrating the ICC from accessing critical information on the Kenyan cases.
Our co-operation with the ICC is a matter in the public domain. If you go to its website now, you will find our unequivocal support.
Q: Raila Odinga is your neighbour in Karen, Nairobi. What is your relationship with the former Prime Minister?
Raila Odinga is not just a neighbour, but a friend since 1987. Even at the time he was voicing his disagreement over my nomination to this office, he was and remains my friend.
Q: Speaking of which, there are those who say you should have spoken out against the manner in which you were first nominated to your current office.
I was nominated by the Hon Mwai Kibaki and I was not privy to the discussions he had with Mr Odinga. I was, therefore, not in a position to comment one way or another. I said let me wait for the law to take its own course.
Q: You popularised the legal term ‘amicus curiae’ during the Supreme Court hearing challenging the election of President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto. But some feel you came out as an eloquent defender of the two and not a friend of the court.
The job of an amicus is a delicate one. You are supposed to guide the court without being party to either the applicant or the defendant. It is very difficult not to be seen to be favouring one side. Let history be my judge on that.
Q: Let us talk a bit about the current tug-of -war between Senators and MPs. What would you say is the most fundamental role of the Senate?
The Senate exists to defend the devolved character of government. In federal constitutions like the USA, they exist to protect the interests of the federated states. In Kenya, unfortunately, some of the powerful laws initially given the Senate by the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) were removed by MPs.
Q: Some have argued that the President should not have signed the Division of Revenue Bill into law as it ended up portraying the government as anti-devolution.
I refer you to the reasons the President gave for assenting to that Bill. He wanted to ensure the critical budget process was within time.
Q: What kind of books do you buy for your children?
I only try to keep my children from violent and pornographic literature. The two are the greatest enemies of modern literature. So I buy my children, nephews and nieces inspirational biographies.
Q: What do you consider your lowest moment in your legal life?
The day in 1986 when I lost an appeal I was handling pro bono for a man sentenced to hang for violent robbery. When we lost the appeal, he collapsed and fainted and that sight haunts me to-date.
Q: And the highest?
When in 1991 I won a case, which returned an estranged wife to her eight-bedroom house in Karen from the shack she was living in Kawangware. That day when right triumphed over wrong is my highest moment.
Q: What do you detest about Kenyans?
The fact that Kenyans do not allow ignorance to stand in the way of strong opinions. They will come out forcefully on any subject even where it is clear they have not the scantiest knowledge in it.
Q: What is the one thing that keeps you awake at night?
The worry that we could have enacted and amended any law or otherwise signed any document that could imperil the peace and stability of the country.
Q: You have reached the apex in the academia and legal practice and now you are serving in the topmost echelons of government. What is the one thing you feel you have not achieved?
I would like to work on the spiritual side of my being and to achieve greater spiritual awareness.

1 comment:

  1. wow! This is a beautiful interview, wish I had the chance to do the same but, with different questions...

    ReplyDelete