BY SAM ALFAN.
Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi is among judicial officers who on Wednesday received a medal of honor from President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Andayi who has been the head of Milimani Chief Magistrate Criminal Divison for over three years was recognized for contributing immensely to the development of jurisprudence through his determinations and for leading the courts he has headed with courage and firmness.
He was also recognized as a mentor for new magistrates and an accomplished trainer for the Judiciary in its various programs.
In 2019 in a land marking decision, Andayi handed three suspects Mohamed Ali Abdikar and Hassan Aden Hassan 41 years in prison for abetting the attack on Garissa University in northeastern Kenya in 2015 that left 148 people dead.
In his decision, magistrate Andayi noted that during the attack so many lives were lost and members of the public left in a panic.
The convictions are the first to result from a long-running investigation and prosecution in the country.
In the recent decision by the magistrate he condemned the police for covering up their own over the killing of an eight-year-old girl shot during the August 2017 election violence.
Magistrate Andayi faulted the police for using the famous blue code of silence in a matter where an innocent life was lost.
Judiciary Chief Deputy Registrar Paul Maina also presented the medals of honor to several judicial officers at Supreme Court building.
They include special prosecutor in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, responsible for select corruption cases James Muriithi Kihara (OGW), Senior Principal Magistrate Joseph Were (MBS).
Irene Moraa Omari (HSC) who is based at NCAJ was recognized with a Head of State Commendation for successfully coordinating all the committees that have been established under the NCAJ.
Which includes the fundraising for their activities, coordinating the funding and reporting for Court User Committees at the court stations and for serving as the point person for the agencies that report under the NCAJ in collating and preparing reports for inclusion in the State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice Report.
Omari has served as secretary at NCAJ and overseen the preparation of the last 5 editions of the statutory report.
Benjamin James Kinuthia (OGW) is the senior Records Management Officer and Personal Assistant to the President of the Court of Appeal, was admitted to the Order of Grand Warrior (OWG) in recognition of his instrumental contributions to the setting up the Information Technology unit in the Judiciary in 1997 by offering technical and software support to the nascent unit.
Stephen Kariuki Kanegeni HSC) has served in the Judiciary for over 28 years rising from a Court Clerk to his present position of Court Administrator. He is credited for facilitating the recovery of the land where the African Court erected in Mukurwe-ini from private developers.
Harriet Gaceri (HSC) has served the Judiciary from the year 2001 when she joined as a Short Hand Typist rising to a Senior Office Administrator at the Court of Appeal where she continues to serve.
