Willy Mutunga, former chief justice of Kenya, has called on the judiciary and judicial officers to embrace integrity as a tool that would guarantee public trust and confidence in the court business.
“A judicial officer will be seen and perceived to be a woman or man of integrity if the authors of the pressures, duress, and influence narrated know the judicial officer cannot be manipulated by them.” Said Mutunga, when giving the 4th annual African Centre for Media Excellence, ACME lecture at Golf course hotel, Kampala on November 8, 2017.
Mutunga added that rulings from judicial officers of integrity are always supported by the people because they are rest assured that such are based on the real and perceived honesty as of the officers that made them.
A fundamental pillar of the integrity of judicial officers is their ideological and political positions, says @WMutunga at the #ACMELecture taking place in Kampala right now. pic.twitter.com/D9vHrxs4Yf
— ACME Uganda (@ACME_Uganda) November 8, 2017
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He as well applauded the media as core important in shaping a trusted and independent judiciary.
“The openness to the media worked in our favor because we managed to cultivate direct public confidence. We drew healthily from the account of trust and good will. We were more believed than those that were fighting us.” Mutunga referred to his relationship with the media as Kenya`s president of the supreme court.
Mutunga shared that he spent considerable time on twitter answering inquiries about cases, lost files, dates of admission of lawyers to the bar and complaints against judicial officers . He says this kept him in touch with the Kenyan people which in the end earned confidence to the Judiciary.
Justice George Kanyeihamba, retired Uganda supreme court judge, reechoed Mutunga`s call for integrity as one of great importance to not only the judiciary but as well to the legacy of the individual judicial officer.
Kanyeihamba added that because of his unquestionable integrity, he was called from retirement to chair a Commonwealth judicial inquiry into corruption by the Judiciary of Kenya.
Robert Kabushenga, head of vision group and the moderator of the lecture, applauded ACME for giving Ugandans a chance to discuss matters of national importance and notably, the lead lecturer, Justice Mutunga as a person similar to the endangered rare species of wildlife that need to be jealously guarded for the good of Africa.
The Microscope 