Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga on Friday, September 20, opened up about threats that he received from Kamba politicians when he was appointed as Chief Justice in 2011.
Speaking at a lecture held at the Second Benedicto Kiwanuka Memorial at the High court in Kampala, he claimed that he was told that he risked isolation from his community if he did not favour them by building new law courts there.
This had come in the backdrop of his announcement that the judiciary would be spending ksh688 million to build new law courts in every county, a part of his transformation strategy.
The Star reported on Saturday, September 21, that during his tenure as Chief Justice, Mutunga was approached by politicians and other leaders who wanted him to prioritize Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni over the rest of the country.
Failure to this, the politicians and community elders are reported to have threatened that they wouldn't protect him if he got into political trouble.
He confessed that he had to tap into his inner courage and conscience as the threats and persuasions from 'eminent members' of the community persisted.
“When I told them that I was the Chief Justice of all Kenyans, they warned me not to come to them when I got into political trouble. I retorted I would seek protection from the communities I build courts for,” he stated.
He told the audience at the conference that as the Chief Justice, he had aimed to transform the judiciary which was frail and choked in terms of resources, and that no one was going to dissuade him from that motive.
By 2014, he had managed to increase the number of high courts from 17 to 34.
His journey to the top of the judiciary, however, has never been easy.
Mutunga, a professor of law and a civil society activist, spent 16 months in detention without trial during Moi's era for his convictions and stand on law.
“I believe the readiness to die for causes of judicial independence and integrity is the ultimate judicial courage,” he told the audience.
