Any functioning democratic society needs to have a judiciary which is perceived by members of the public as impartial and competent. There will always be individuals who do not like the outcome of their cases and who allege that judges are biased, incompetent or corrupt. However, in order to maintain the rule of law, judges must always conduct themselves in such as way that the vast majority of members of the public believe they are dispensing justice fairly.
This is why the latest news from Kenya concerning the manner in which courts are dealing with corruption cases is disturbing. More than 130 corruption cases are said to be pending in the Kenyan courts, many having been delayed for several years. It appears that heavy backlogs in the High Court have meant that any defendant can raise a constitutional issue and have the matter referred to the High Court, safe in the knowledge that this will delay the case indefinitely.
Some of the defendants are senior current members of parliament with strong political ambitions, and there is some chance that the person who is elected president of the country at the next elections will in fact be a criminal who should have been spending several years behind bars. Politicians blame the judges for the court delays, while the judges blame lack of resources. Either way, the rule of law is tarnished.