• 84 and still going strong, the veteran lawyer feels state has made a big deal of corona
• He says it should not have closed schools or compelled courts to operate virtually
Image: FILE
Veteran lawyer Dr John Khaminwa welcomes us warmly into his Lavington office. He leads us into a meeting room and sits on the left side, looking confident but reserved.
The office has a home set-up, complete with lush green garden. It is midday and he seems energetic for a man in his 80s.
Khaminwa immediately says he wants to talk about the coronavirus, which has affected all Kenyans.
Khaminwa, 84, during an interview with the Star, said he does not wear a mask because of medical problems, saying masks would cause him more problems in breathing and chest pains.
People should be very careful with the masks they wear as it may be toxic to some, he says.
However, he always observes social distancing, exercising and eating well to boost his immunity.
“I always walk 1km every morning before preparing to work and in the evening I walk 2km. You can see I do not have a big tummy and I look good,” he says and laughs.
In running a law firm, he has the responsibility to take care of his employees so they are not infected by the coronavirus. They always keep the office warm.
Mutahi may think he is doing a good thing but he is not because you cannot be telling people that these people are dying and these are infected. You cause fear and intimidate the whole nationLawyer John Khaminwa
STATE 'SCAREMONGERING'
The veteran lawyer says the government should not instil fear in Kenyans with the message, ‘Stay at home, corona is killing people’, when they know these people have no jobs and no money to tend to their needs.
It will push them into depression and death rather than dying with the infection of corona.
It is true corona kills, he says, but let us not forget that we have diseases like malaria that are killing people on a daily basis.
“We also have diabetes, HIV, TB and others killing more people than the coronavirus,” he said.
“When you weigh the adverse effects of corona with this other diseases, you find that corona deaths are not as much as the other diseases.”
He said in 1920, there was Spanish flu, which killed more people than the coronavirus has but in the end it was managed.
“Coronavirus should have been treated and received the way we did with HIV, and we never made it a big issue the way CS Mutahi has done it,” he said.
"I don’t think it is also good to be giving Kenyans figures on how many people have died and who have been infected. Even when a country is faced with a war, they are never told about the casualties every day."
The daily briefing of infection figures is intimidating people, he says.
"Mutahi may think he is doing a good thing but he is not because you cannot be telling people that these people are dying and these are infected. That’s not the way things are done since you cause fear and intimidate the whole nation."
He says the government should not have closed schools. The school heads should have been given a chance to manage just like the courts are working.
"We have to handle everything in a conscious manner, not to blow it up the way we have done. It's faulty."
DIGITAL NO-NO
Khaminwa also advocates courts resuming their sittings as opposed to limiting themselves to operating on virtual or digital filing only.
“Open our courts other than being virtual. I'm not sure that you hunt down justice using virtual machines,” he said.
He said there is a danger that using virtual machines could lead to some disadvantages to litigants as it may be important that all litigants should see faces and their demeanour.
Using a virtual hearing translates the hearing of cases into some kind of mechanical exercise, he says.
"Rendering justice to people is through human exercise, it’s not machines at all," he said.
"People like seeing judicial officers, they talk about it during the hearing and after and how they were received by the judges or magistrates.
"Virtual hearings are becoming universal, but let’s not forget that we have different cases to other people."
The Chief Justice, he said, should open the courts and let matters be heard in chambers and open courts.
COURTS SHORT-STAFFED
Khaminwa said not much is going on in courts and it is very unfortunate because the administration of justice is a vital component in the management of the country.
“Currently, the judiciary is going through a very difficult time as we don’t have sufficient judges," Khaminwa said.
He urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to swear in the judicial officers approved by the Judicial Service Commission and allocate enough funds to the judiciary to make it easy to attend to the obligations.
"Digital fling of cases is not good and in my view the way we used to do things was not bad, though we may have a few things to do digitally," he said.
“Right now with this digital thing, when I try to find out about my cases, it may take one or two days, unlike the other time when I would send my chap and he comes back with all details I needed. The digital filing is not so efficient.
"As a country, we have problems, including corruption, and we should approach a system that minimises corrupt practices. It’s quite possible the digital system will be invaded by corrupt practices."
He supports the opening up of economy instead of lockdown.
Khaminwa said the economy is very important, adding that since lockdown, most firms closed and even right now they are closed since they can’t get funds and clients.
"Many Kenyans have been thrown onto the streets and the virus is intimidating and threatening us. We also have an economy where there has to be a proper way of balancing so that as a country, we don’t collapse at all," he said.
Edited by T Jalio