The 2010 Constitution and its promise: A Reality or a Hoax? Acceptance speech during the 2025 C. B. Madan Awards
by admin on | 2026-01-08 09:33:51 Last Updated by admin on 2026-01-09 11:14:09
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Distinguished Guests, Colleagues from the Judiciary Present, Members of the Legal Profession, Family members present, Ladies and gentlemen;
1. It is with a deep sense of humility and gratitude that I accept the 2025 C.B. Madan award. To be recognized in the name of Chief Justice Madan, is not merely an honour, it is a challenge. Justice Madan was a jurist of rare repute, courage and clarity of mind, whose judgments were not only legally illuminating but morally resonant. He believed that the law must serve the people, not power. And he once wrote: “A judge is human. He must be humane.” This simple truth must remain our compass.
2. Today, and on an occasion like this, it is important that we reflect on the Constitution 2010, a document conceived of struggle, sacrifice, and delivered out of the collective yarning for a just society. It was not handed down from ivory towers. It was achieved in the fires of injustice, in the tears of mothers who lost sons to police brutality, in the silence of a citizenry denied its voice, and in the courage of those who dared to dream of a better Kenya.
3. As Kenyans went through the struggle, they aspired for a government based on essential values of human rights, the rule of law, equality, freedom, democracy, social justice, transparency and accountability. It was out of these aspirations that they ADOPTED, ENACTED and gave this Constitution to themselves and the future generations. These values are embedded in Article 10 which is the Heartbeat of the Nation.
4. Much has been said and will continue to be said about our transformative Constitution, and rightly so. It is not just a legal document: It is a social contract, a moral compass, and a transformative blue print full of promise to dismantle the architecture of exclusion and usher in a republic built on those values and principles as ethos of good governance. 5. The Constitution dispersed power to the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches, as well as constitutional Commissions and Independent offices: It introduced devolution to bring power and resources closer to the people, not just geographically, but democratically too. It envisioned those in governance positions as servants, not sovereigns; counties were to be engines of development, and not fiefdoms of read more...
