DCJ Mwilu: Please stop killing us, life is God-given

Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu has urged Kenyans to stop killing judges and magistrates among other Judicial Service Commission employees.

Mwilu said every single judge and magistrate is in danger from people who don't know what the rule of law means.

"The issue here is that one of us, a judge was killed. So, I ask, stop killing us. We haven’t come to kill you from whatever place you work in and doing your own thing," Mwilu said.

Mwilu addressed mourners during magistrate Monica Kivuti's burial ceremony in Yatta, Machakos, on Saturday.

The deceased succumbed to bullet injuries after she was shot by a senior police officer while at work in Makadara law courts.

"There have been too far many attempts on our lives from our workplaces and therefore I ask, please don't kill us. If you think you can kill all of us, those places will be filled by fellow Kenyans. Will you still come and kill them all?" Mwilu posed.

The deputy chief justice said it was primitive if a person kills another.

She said life is God-given and should be taken away by God alone.

"If anybody is unhappy with what we do, don't kill us. Killing somebody is a criminal offence under Section 203 of the penal code and its punishment is death under Section 204 of the penal code," Mwilu said.

"Why would we die for the job that God has given us to do? Even when we get it wrong, don't kill us, appeal." 

Mwilu said she wished that the cop couldn't have been so that he could be tried and "We hear the reasons of what he did. Who was he protecting? Was that person's life better than Monica's?"

"Stop killing us at our places of work. Stop killing us anywhere. Stop killing fellow Kenyans. Whether we work from tents, or under trees. Whether we work from strong buildings, don't kill us," Mwilu said.

"And so, it would appear that we signed a death sentence when we took this job. Yet, somebody has to do this job. Please, don't kill us. Why don't you just allow God to take our lives and then it would be more bearable to bear the loss of death? This one is painful because you snabbed life just from somebody for doing her job."

Mwilu asked Kenyans if they were unhappy to appeal but not kill them.

"We will give those judgements and if you want to kill us, then do it. But, we took an oath to do a job, we shall do it. Ours is a sacred job and somebody has to do it. At this time, it's we doing it," Mwilu said.