I recently published a book titled The Black Bar, which discusses the history of the Bar in Kenya.

Since then, I have had support by way of proposals that I write a similar work to tackle some of the issues I raised there. The Judiciary, in general, has emerged as the dominant motif of those responses, from professional colleagues, the media and the public. Many feel the Judiciary's performance has been below par and that reforms are imperative.

The malaise in the Bench is awesome. In discussions with colleagues, the depth of the problem became clear. While writing the book, I relied mainly on secondary evidence, such as books, newspapers and other publications. Now, I have had the benefit of hearing fellow practitioners' views. Along court corridors, the whispers have been candid - that something is wrong with the administration of justice in Kenya.

This unfortunate situation is aggravated by the general ignorance of the workings of our judicial system. The ordinary citizen, even where he or she encounters the judicial process at work, cannot overcome the handicap imposed by its mystique. The reverence is akin to fear. But the Bar, unlike the citizen, cannot be so mesmerised and ought to make a more informed evaluation of the performance of the Bench.

The lawyer has a duty to see to it that the administration of justice is carried out properly and equitably. He or she occupies the vanguard position here. This is particularly so in protecting the public from miscarriage of justice or any event or activity that might impede transparency in the system.

As a member of the Bar, I propose to launch a "Judicial Reform Initiative" as part of my duty to publicise the judicial system. I intend to launch a report on the performance of the Judiciary in the last two decades and to detail out all the significant instances of miscarriage of justice over the period. To do so, I require information from readers on the following issues:

* Instances of gross injustice;

* Corruption through bribery of judicial personnel;

Manipulation of judicial personnel and the judiciary by external actors and forces;

Private business associations and transactions that impute less than honourable conduct by members of the Bench;

Lack of transparency, especially in relation to the financial status judicial personnel; and

Incompetence by judicial officials.

Your information will be invaluable. I'll receive it in confidence. It may be sent through the following addresses:

PAUL MWANGI,

Tel/Fax: 02-210268,

P.O. Box 55903, Nairobi

E-mail: mnm@wananchi.com.