Kenya’s constitutional gains at risk without ethical leadership and integrity - CJ Koome

Chief Justice Martha Koome has called for deeper ethical foundations across Kenya's governance and justice institutions, warning that the country's constitutional gains risk remaining theoretical unless backed by integrity, courage and institutional commitment.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the Second Edition of the High Court Annual Human Rights Summit in Nairobi, the Chief Justice said that despite Kenya's globally respected human rights jurisprudence over the past 15 years, many landmark rulings have yet to translate into real change for ordinary citizens.

"Jurisprudential victories have not always become lived realities," she noted, describing a persistent gap between the courts' progressive decisions and their implementation on the ground.

CJ Koome said Kenya continues to grapple with serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, homelessness, entrenched inequality, and a rising tide of femicide and gender-based violence.

"These are not isolated incidents; they are structural failures rooted in governance gaps," she said. "If all Kenyans are to enjoy the freedoms our Constitution guarantees, we must confront these challenges with honesty, courage, and a united resolve."

The summit, themed "Upholding Human Dignity: Ethical Leadership as a Pillar of Constitutionalism," underscored what the CJ described as the crucial link between ethical leadership and the realisation of constitutional rights.

Ethical leadership, she said, goes beyond personal integrity and demands institutional courage—the willingness to uphold what is constitutionally right even when unpopular.

Koome reminded the audience that in adopting the 2010 Constitution, Kenyans chose to ground their nation on values historically denied to many: human dignity, equality, social justice, inclusivity, human rights and protection of the marginalised.

She emphasised the foundational role of the High Court in bringing constitutional principles to life, calling it the forum "where abstract constitutional ideals meet concrete human struggles."

This includes cases involving stateless children, victims of extrajudicial actions, and marginalised groups seeking recognition and protection.

According to the CJ, High Court decisions have significantly widened the scope of rights in Kenya—enforcing socio-economic rights such as housing, safeguarding the rights of the accused, and advancing protections for children, women, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

The Court has also upheld digital rights and ensured checks on the Executive and Legislature.

Reaffirming that the Constitution is a "living promise" rather than a symbolic document, Koome said the Bill of Rights is binding and central to the country's social, economic and political transformation.

"For judges, this means that whenever rights are at risk, we must intervene," she said, adding that every legal interpretation must consider whether it protects or diminishes human dignity.

The CJ urged judges and all public officers to ensure that Chapter Six of the Constitution remains vibrant and enforceable, calling it Kenya's ethical backbone. Public power, she stressed, is a trust to be exercised with humility and devotion to the public good.

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"Constitutions cannot sustain themselves," she warned. "They require men and women of character—across the Judiciary, government, civil society and the citizenry—who are deeply committed to service and human dignity. Without this human infrastructure, our constitutional text is but ink on paper."