Nairobi — Chief Justice Martha Koome has called for stronger ethical foundations within institutions tasked with safeguarding the Constitution and implementing landmark judicial decisions, essential for the enforcement of Kenya’s progressive Constitutional order as well as the landmark decisions arising from courts.
She explained that jurisprudential victories have not always translated into lived realities for ordinary Kenyans saying that a wide gap persists between judicial ideals and on-the-ground implementation despite the global respect the High Court’s jurisprudence has earned over the last 15 years.
Speaking during the closure of the Second Edition of the High Court Annual Human Rights Summit, Chief Justice Koome decried that despite the progressive foundation, Kenya continued to face profound human rights challenges such as extrajudicial killings, abductions, homelessness, entrenched inequality, and an alarming rise in femicide and gender-based violence.
“These are not isolated incidents; they are structural failures rooted in governance gaps. If all Kenyans are to enjoy the freedoms our Constitution guarantees, we must confront these challenges with honesty, courage, and a united resolve.” the CJ added.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
Chief Justice Koome explained that ethical leadership, both within the Judiciary and across governance systems, should not merely be about personal integrity but instead, about institutional courage: the willingness to make decisions that are constitutionally right even when they are unpopular, and about transparency, humility, and an unwavering commitment to service.
She said the theme of the 2nd Summit, “Upholding Human Dignity: Ethical Leadership as a Pillar of Constitutionalism,” is a call to action for all who serve the public or engage with the justice system and reminds everyone that without ethical leadership, constitutionalism is emptied of substance; and without constitutionalism, human dignity becomes a distant ideal.
The CJ recounted that when Kenyans overwhelmingly adopted the 2010 Constitution, they made a deliberate choice to anchor the nation on values long withheld from many of Kenyan people – human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-discrimination, and protection of the marginalised.
She underscored the unique and central place the High Court holds in the constitutional architecture saying that it is where abstract constitutional ideals meet concrete human struggles: where mothers contest the denial of nationality to their children; where victims seek accountability for extrajudicial actions; where the marginalised and voiceless seek recognition of their humanity.
CJ Koome highlighted that the decisions of the High Court have expanded the frontiers of freedom: enforcing socio-economic rights such as housing; protecting accused persons; advancing the rights of children, women, persons living with disabilities, and marginalised groups; safeguarding digital rights; and holding the Executive and Legislature to constitutional limits.
Saying that the Constitution is a living promise and not a symbolic text, she explained that the Bill of Rights is not aspirational but a binding blueprint for the social, economic, political, and cultural transformation of the nation.
“By entrenching it at the heart of our governance system, the Constitution compels every public institution – and the Judiciary in particular – to ensure that justice, equality, and dignity guide our decisions and conduct. For judges, this means that whenever rights are at risk, we must intervene; and whenever we interpret the law, we must ask whether the outcome protects or diminishes human dignity.”
She urged judges to do their part in ensuring that ethical leadership remains the defining character of public service, for without it the Constitution’s promise of accountability and human dignity cannot be realised.
Further, the CJ reminded Judges of their duty to ensure that Chapter Six of the Constitution remains alive and not merely as an aspirational ideal, but as Kenya’s ethical code, the standard by which all public and state officers are measured.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Success!
Almost finished…
We need to confirm your email address.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
Error!
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.
“Ethical leadership requires that those entrusted with authority exercise it with humility, conscious that public power is never personal property but a sacred trust to be discharged solely for the common good.
She added it calls on the judges to resist the temptations of expediency, patronage, or convenience, and instead choose the harder but principled path that places the public interest at the centre of every decision.
“I urge all of us to always remember that constitutions cannot sustain themselves. They require men and women of character – judges, judicial officers, state officers, public officers, human rights defenders, and citizens – who share a deep ethic of service and a commitment to human dignity. Without this human infrastructure, our constitutional text is but ink on paper.”
