Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua and Supreme Court Judge Smokin Wanjala on Friday engaged each other in a heated debate over the war against graft during a conference at Kabarak University in Nakuru.
The two had been invited to speak during the university’s Law School International Conference before they differed over the manner in which the government is tackling graft.
While Justice Wanjala pleaded with members of the public to step up their efforts in the war against the vice, Karau argued that the Judiciary was entirely to blame for the failed cases.
The former Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister said that judges and magistrates have been sleeping on their jobs when there are case backlogs at the Judiciary.
She insisted that unless the Judiciary pulls up its socks in the fight against the vice, the general public will not change anything no matter how hard they try.
"Kenyans must wage a total war on graft because the vice is a complex conspiracy. The country needs a sophisticated system to fight graft," Wanjala said as quoted by Daily Nation.
“We must be sincere in upholding the rule of law. Sometimes the law is being applied selectively depending on the suspect’s social status,” noted Karua.
The differences between the leaders come at a time when case backlogs at the courts have been on the rise.
Chief Justice David Maraga recently asked the courts to embrace technology as they seek to digitise their operations.