The judiciary should come up with a model to supervise and mentor young judicial officers who suffer silently, a candidate for the post of Deputy Chief Justice said yesterday.
Court of Appeal Judge Philomena Mwilu said a number of judicial officers have a drinking problem, but little is done to help such people.
The judge said while working in Eldoret, she notice that a magistrate had reported to work at 2pm because he had taken too much alcohol.
"I was forced to talk to the magistrate and organise a lunch for the station's nine magistrates on a weekly basis to try and find out the problems they were undergoing," she
said.
Mwilu said if she becomes the DCJ, she will want to see judges and magistrates interacting often through the model she came up with in Eldoret.
"The judiciary is weak on supervision and mentoring juniors. With my nine years experience in the body I would recommend that the model is implemented," the judge said.
She said if she succeeds, she would want to take over the docket of fighting corruption.
The judge said she will set up a strong system to curb corruption, which has been a hindrance to justice for Kenyans.
"In the first two and a half years, I will ensure that litigants know justice is attained in court and not in the corridors," Mwilu said.
She said if she realises that a judge has been compromised, she will confront him or her.
Mwilu said that as the CJ assistant she will promote team work among judges to ensure Kenyans get quality.
The Court of Appeal judge said gender disparity has been addressed in the judiciary and the ratio of men to women is almost equal.
She said she has been paying school fees for needy children since 1986 as she came from a poor background.