I’ll make Judiciary ‘people-owned’, Dr Wekesa

By James Macharia

With only few meters to the finishing line, the race to seeking the next Kenya’s Chief Justice is sedately coming to an end with all eyes on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) panel to see whom it will pronounce to have crossed the line before who.

This is despite a court order issued on Wednesday barring the JSC interviwinfg panel from naming a final winner for slot.

On Thursday, being the second last day of the interviews, Dr. Moni Wekesa, a holder of two doctorates was before the panel, where he presented his manifesto on what he intends to do if he wins the position.

Dr Wekesa told the panel that he has a plan of taking the Judiciary to the public which will help the people feel that they own it themselves.

“I will make Judiciary people owned where they have a lot of information about where they are able to associate with it should we want to know about corruption, they will tell us,” he said.

Dr Wekesa also told the interviewers that he will empower the judicial staff by holding workshops and exchange programs in other countries.

Wekesa said that in the first three months if appointed as CJ, he will first amend the relationship between Judiciary and the other two arms of government; the executive and legislative. He claimed to be a transformative leader, who can communicate effectively and also a problem-solver.

For the sake of competence of workers in the Judiciary, Wekesa said that he will get scholarships for fifteen staffs per year where they will acquire even more working skills.

Wekesa said he’s proud of having chaired a committee that once came up with an anti-doping law and agency that secured the interests of Kenyan athletes.

The law also curbed the then rampant dipping vice amongst the athletes which was jeopardizing their lives in athletics.

He also recognized the Bodaboda riders, a group that he said has a stake in the Judiciary. Dr Wekesa told the commission that he plans to reach out to them in order to make them feel that they too own the Judiciary.

“I am thinking about the Bodaboda riders, they’ve a stake in the Judiciary. I would want to reach out to them so that they are able to feel that the Judiciary is theirs,” said Wekesa.

Dr Wekesa is a holder of two doctorates. One in Law and one in Sports.

Dr Wekesa said in front of the panel that he once took a national team in Helsinki in 1992 and in the course of events, one of the team members punched someone and got arrested. Consequentially, he was appointed to go and intervene through the matter to have the boy released.

Wekesa managed and the boy was released.

From then onwards, he developed interest in Law and ended up in the faculty desire of having a PhD in Education.

Professor Olive Mugenda, who is charing the panel, enquired to know why Wekesa refers to himself as Dr. Dr. Moni Wekesa.

In replying to the query,he said that he adopted the title in Central Europe.

Dr Wekesa marks the ninth candidate to be interviewed, out of the ten shortlisted individuals vying Judiciary presidency.

The interviews will end on Friday with Alice Yano being the last to be interviewed.

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