Paul Muhoho @PeopleDailyKe The ghosts of the historic epic purge of the Judiciary in 2003 returned to haunt the mastermind of the exercise, retired Justice Aaron Ringera, when he appeared yesterday for an interview for seat of the Chief Justice.
It was a long, agonising and cleansing ritual for the retired judge of the Court of Appeal and former anti-corruption Tsar when questions started emerging of his work in ridding the Judiciary of corrupt elements. Ringera was pulled down memory lane and confessed about his “regrettable” involvement in the 1991 tormenting of pro-democracy lawyers and the 2003 extra-judicial removal of judges, magistrates and junior Judiciary staff.
The Judiciary purge came to be known as the ‘Dragon’ after Ringera famously handed his indictment report to retired Chief Justice Evan Gicheru, uttering the words, “here is the Dragon, slay it”.
Yesterday, he spoke of his anguish before the nine-member Judicial Service Commission (JSC) over the manner in which the 23 judges and 82 magistrates were condemned unheard and unceremoniously kicked out following the infamous radical surgery.
Justice Ringera, who is now serving with the Arusha-based East African Court of Justice (EACJ), recalled having presented Gicheru with the report of his committee that investigated corruption in the Judiciary on September 30, 2003, but conceded the victims were not confronted with the accusations made against them.
The committee had found five out of nine Court of Appeal judges, 18 of 36 High Court judges, 82 of 254 magistrates and 43 paralegal staff “all infected with the corruption virus” and recommended immediate prosecution and administrative disciplinary action.
Gicheru, instead, gave them two weeks to resign or risk “the hard tackle.” “I was utterly shocked when their names were published. I demanded to know from the CJ who had exposed them. Honestly, I did not foresee the possibility of a leakage of the report. I am sorry it happened,” Ringera said.
“It was my high noon to investigate my colleagues and seniors to fight corruption in the Judiciary. My painful moment came when five of my colleagues, who had personally assisted me through hard times to climb my professional ladder, fell victim to the exercise,” he said while answering questions from High Court judge Aggrey Muchelule.
However, Ringera explained there existed no judicial administrative mechanism to accommodate defences from those under investigation since the CJ was expected to recommend to the President to appoint tribunals to handle the disciplinary cases.
Three judges—Philip Waki, Msagha Mbogholi and the late Moijo ole Keiwua—successfully challenged the findings by the Ringera team and bounced back to the Bench. Asked by Court of Appeal judge Mohamed Warsame whether he was ready to consider compensation for the judges who fell victim to the “judicial homicide” if he is appointed the next CJ, Ringera replied; “Anyone who was aggrieved can access the High Court, which enjoys the original jurisdiction to entertain such petitions. If the matter then went to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court, I could recuse myself.”
“I am a humane and compassionate person. I was personally pained by the outcome of the exercise. Some of the former judges have never forgiven me. Whenever we meet in banks and airports, they look away. I lead an extra-ordinary life of pain and sorrow. That is the cross I have to bear,” he said.
He told Senior Counsel Tom Ojienda that disciplinary issues involving judges and magistrates should be handled in a sensitive and delicate manner. “If I were to do it today, I would do it differently,” he said.
Ringera, while being questioned by commissioner Mercy Deche, recalled having sued former Law Society of Kenya chairman Paul Muite and council members in 1991 and securing an injunction restraining them from making political statements in support of multi-party democracy and agitating for security of tenure for judges.
The defiant lawyers had been cited for disobeying the orders and were subsequently fined Sh10,000 each. “We were living under a dictatorship. LSK was under threat of being proscribed. I acted in the best interests of the LSK and the legal profession. We were used to put a break or to halt those opposed to the democratic process. I was not gate-keeping for anybody,” said Ringera.
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