{UAH} Kenyan magistrates accused of poor writing skills

Kenyan magistrates accused of poor writing skills

By Stanley Azuakola on March 23, 2015 — A team presiding over the vetting of judges and magistrates in Kenya spoke out about the fact that too many judicial officers lack writing skills on Sunday

Justice Sharad Rao Source: The Nation Kenya

The chair of Kenya's vetting board, Justice Sharad Rao, lamented about the writing skills of most judicial officers that are below par (which hurts the delivery of justice).

"Every judgment that the magistrates make should be understood by every person who reads it. It should be simple, with enough reasons backing the decision. Most of the people we considered were not up to the job," he said.

Justice Rao and his team recommended when they released their deliberations on the suitability of the judicial officers, that the Judicial Service Commission should include in its annual conference a presentation on common mistakes in writing.

"We recommend a paper be presented on the common mistakes in judgment writing to highlight the shortcomings and act as a guide for improvement. The fact that a magistrate can issue a ruling that is so shallow and lacking in content and structure is, in itself, defeatist of justice and the Judiciary has to do something," said Justice Rao.

The board gave an example from Kisumu in the western region of Kenya, where early this year a vetting process had taken place for 45 magistrates. The board found that only five persons out of the 45 had "exemplary writing skills".

A lack of writing skills can be a problem in many professions, but it is more so in the legal profession where a single error can condemn a person and cause a miscarriage of justice. No wonder the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board is worried.

Source: The Nation

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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