The laughable decision by a Nairobi court to fine peanuts a man found guilty of killing a university student, while driving on the wrong side of the road, has once again confirmed that the judiciary is no longer a place where Kenyans can expect to get justice.
Nairobi magistrate Elector Riani found Job Wandera, a surveyor, guilty of drunk driving on the wrong side on the Thika superhighway, and only fined him Sh350,000 or a three-year jail term.
Wandera, who was running away from NTSA officers, caused a fatal head-on collision that killed the engineering student on the spot. He has not shown any remorse to the family of the slain engineering student, but the court disregarded all that in its ruling. The parents of the University of Nairobi student, who said they were looking for justice for their son, said they were disappointed the ruling.
This illogical decision, which does not take into account public interest and safety, has made Kenyans angry and demanding answers.
Journalist-turned-lawyer Wahome Thuku called the court's decision a travesty of justice, revealing that corrupt backroom deals must have influenced the ruling.
"THIS is total travesty of justice. These are the kind of magistrates who should never be anywhere in the judiciary," the former court journalist said on his popular social media page.
He went on: "1. You are drunk and driving. 2. You are running away from NTSA 3. You are driving on the wrong side of a superhighway 4.You crash into another car and kill the driver. 5. You get convicted.6. You get a slap on the wrist with 300bib fine and your DL intact.7. And Kenyans are expected to ever respect our courts and judiciary? Sickness."
"I can almost guess by 100% what transpired between the hearings and the judgement but I leave it there," he added.
A Mr Patrick Ngigi urged the Jubilee administration to revisit the judiciary and fix the ills that have been shown in recent months.
"And when Jubilee wants to revisit the judiciary, we are all over ourselves pointing out that the institution is independent! Independence, my foot," he said.
Social media user Joseph Gitua said money exchanging hands was the key influencer in the decisions the courts are making these days.
"There are no judges in Kenya courts. Majority are very corrupt. Bribery is what counts. The money is what courts to decide cases."
This comes even before the dust settles on the damning allegations of the Supreme Court judges taking part in a scheme to install Raila Odinga as the president through the back door. That is why they used unreasonable grounds to nullify President Uhuru Kenyatta's landslide victory in last year's election.
A number of Kenyans dissatisfied with the performance of Chief Justice David Maraga and other judges have filed petitions to remove them from office.
The casual handling of Al Shabaab suspected terrorists by the courts has also not helped the judiciary in the eyes of Kenyans.