A joke by Chief Justice Martha Koome on Friday that judges sometimes keep court files in their bedrooms so they can read them and even make decisions revealed via dreams has elicited strong reactions.
Whereas some took it to mean that judicial officers go through a lot as they solve the disputes brought before them, there were those who felt that it was a confession about relying on other factors than the facts presented.
“Before I became a judge, I never imagined a file would intrude my bedroom. But I can assure you, I sleep with several of them. And so are these judges who are in front of you, who have to wake up in the middle of the night and catch up with a paragraph or two. Or sometimes you cannot even sleep because a solution has come in form of a dream and you have to wake up and write it down,” Justice Koome said when releasing the State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice Report.
Most of the reactions posted on X, under a video shared capturing the remarks, were critical of Justice Koome's remarks.
“Sorry to those who get jailed because the judge dreamt you deserve a jail term," Njuguna wrote.
“No wonder there are so many questionable rulings against Kenyans’ dream of justice,” Joshua posted.
“When did dreams replace common sense, logic and interpretation of the law?” Don stated.
Justice Koome's remarks evoked memories of Dr Willy Mutunga, the first Chief Justice under the 2010 Constitution, who also drew attention when he said that there was something special in the stud he wears.
While being interviewed for the position of CJ by the Judicial Service Commission, Dr Mutunga said he wouldn’t remove the stud because he wore it on command from his “ancestors”.
“I have two ancestors, a man and a woman. They both had earrings, and in 2003 as I prayed to them, they instructed me to wear one so that they can protect me,” Dr Mutunga told the vetting team.
Later, Nairobi lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui filed a petition seeking to stop Dr Mutunga from assuming the office of the Chief Justice, partly based on that revelation.
One of Kinyanjui's claims was that Dr Mutunga was relying on “necromancy” due to his confession about communication with ancestors.
“He cannot uphold the dignity and the respect of the Judiciary and the judicial system while engaged in necromancy and wearing of the ear stud that he confessed connects him to unspecified ancestors whose influence and impact on him on the discharge of the functions of the office of the CJ were never canvassed or indeed established,” claimed Mr Kinyanjui.
On the other hand, Justice Koome’s predecessor, David Maranga, was a strict Seventh-Day Adventist who insisted that he would never sacrifice his faith for work.
At the Friday event, Justice Koome announced that the Judiciary had established eight Alternative Justice Systems (AJS) suites and launched AJS county action plans in four counties, effectively integrating traditional and community-based conflict resolution mechanisms into the formal justice system.
