The Kenya Judges and Magistrates Association president
Stephen Radido/FILE
The Kenya Judges and Magistrates Association (KJMA) has decried intimidation of the Judiciary through the social media.
KMJA president Stephen Radido said the attacks are not mere coincidences but well-orchestrated plans to obtain certain desired outcomes.
“It is no secret that there has been a scheme to weaken and ultimately destroy the institution of the judiciary through crusades in social media,” he said.
In a statement to newsrooms, Radido noted that several petitions have been lodged with the Judicial Service Commission seeking the removal of a number of judges.
“Regrettably, after lodging the petitions with the commission, some of the petitioners and their proxies have taken a tangent of intimidating the Judicial Service Commission and judges while prosecuting the petitions on social media,” he said.
Radido added that due process demands that persons who have lodged petitions, and more so those who are officers of court or legal practitioners with a professional Code of Conduct and Practice, allow the JSC to conduct its processes soberly without intimidation or threats on social media.
“The association is alive to the fact that the Constitution of Kenya guarantees freedom of speech. Consequently, it is not the desire of the association to take moves to gag expressions on social media or other media,” he said.
He called on JSC to stand firm and remain committed to the supremacy of the Constitution, objectives and authority of independent commissions, rights to fair administrative justice, fair labour practices, and fair hearing.
He urged the JSC to reassure the public that it will keep to the narrow path set out for it by the Constitution and the legal framework guiding its processes.
“The Executive Council calls for calm amongst the judges and judicial officers and assures them that the council will explore all the legitimate avenues to ensure that all the constitutional safeguards and protections assured them in the performance of their constitutional obligations are not breached or violated,” he assured.