Dear judge Mbadwa,
I am writing you at the time your tribunal has hogged the limelight for the right reasons; reporting an alleged attempted bribery to authorities.
My Lord, the reporting of the matter signified several things which could help define our justice delivery system.
It might as well mean that you, honourable judge Mbadwa, is the last judge standing in as far as integrity is concerned.
My Lord, we could be celebrating you as the only member of the bench who has ensured that public trust in the Judiciary remains relatively high. At least we can deduce that there are few endangered species of judges who remain impervious to monetary inducements and easy wealth.
But despite all these apparent assurances of a clean judicial system, I get Goosebumps when I start putting the ‘what if’ thought into this narrative.
My Lord, what if you happen to be the wrong judge who had never been approached before by a cartel of justice stealers; hence your rejection of the bribe?
It could well mean other judges before had been game in various cases only that other quarters could not expose the rot due to complexity of corruption itself.
What if the culture of judicial miscarriages sponsored by the filthy rich and the corrupt is so entrenched that three quarters of the judgements that have been written were inspired by the depth of somebody’s pockets?
My Lord, I shudder to imagine how pervasive bribery and corruption could be in the Judiciary when I consider the air of arrogance that some ‘haves’ lord over the ‘have-nots’ with every time the poor seek justice.
Perhaps the biggest lessons I can draw from this matter is that we don’t have to trust anyone no matter how loud they may get to convince us that they are clean.
At least we know that Nyasas are becoming more self-seeking and egocentric as they put self-interest ahead of that of the country and the general good.
My Lord, I am aware at this stage that these remain allegations but that doesn’t stop some of us, who are permanent members of the court of public opinion, to speculate and fill in the gaps where the official versions are not making any sense.
My Lord, as people celebrate your demonstration of professional integrity, there is a principle which is applied in all circumstances that I have to remind people of influence of.
It is the seed being planted that determines the time of harvest and not the sower. How do I mean?
If we sow bribery and corruption, there will come a time when that crop will be ready for harvest and the planter would not be in a position to run away from the responsibility of reaping it. You only reap what you sow though some crops take long to mature; they have to be harvested anyway.
I have a feeling that the seeds of corruption and bribery in Judiciary have just reached harvest time for many people. Let the sowers own their crop now.
Don’t they say let those with ears hear?
I remain,
John Citizen.
With Emmanuel Luciano
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