This is because in this supposedly democratic country, lawyers rarely question the integrity or credentials of judges in public, however strongly they may feel about them. Thus no attorney has ever impugned the integrity of the judicial system itself and its members in the way Boko has done. The media has largely stuck to the script and dutifully treated the judiciary with reverence, shying away from critiquing even clearly controversial decisions. In such an absence of what has come to be known as the court of public opinion championed by the media, ordinary Batswana have come to regard judges as infallible gods whose decisions can only be questioned within the hallowed but narrow precincts of the judiciary itself, the apex of which is the Court of Appeal. In this light, Boko's pointed utterances may be seen by many as sacrilegious, casting, as they do, aspersions on the credentials of some judges and calling for a review of the system that appointed them. He has said judgments coming out of our courts should be sound enough for Kenyan, American, South African, British, Australian and other jurisdictions to cite them not for ridicule but to enhance their arguments and jurisprudence. Boko's remarks are apt.
The man did not point at any one judge. He has an issue with some judges whom he says lack depth and analysis and refuse to think outside the box when delivering judgments. He is peeved by judges whose decisions no one would want to use as a teaching aid because they are riddled with bad grammar. Boko's utterances were made at a constitutional review congress, a perfectly appropriate forum. Thus, in as much as it was about the judiciary, the speech was really a political one. It is an exhortation for the political leadership to allow for a judicial system whose well-researched 'go-all-the-way' judgments match international standards. That has to start with the system of appointing judges. Hence we call on the judiciary and Batswana to appreciate Boko's remarks in their proper context. Instead of victimising him and visiting the punishment upon his clients, individual judicial officers should introspect. His words should become a prod that brings us out of our stupor.
