The row over Kadhi’s courts is much ado about nothing by Billow Kerrow

"On a hot, Friday afternoon in early 1999, a frail, old man walked into the NSSF offices of the Presidential Commission on Harmonisation of Terms and Conditions of Service of Public Servants in which I served as a commissioner.
He had arrived a short while earlier by bus from Mombasa, and had walked all the way from River Road bus terminal, carrying a small plastic paper bag full of documents. He introduced himself as the Chief Kadhi. We were taken aback, as we all thought the Chief Kadhi was a senior judge who would jet in and be chauffeur driven, with bodyguards in tow. 
His submission to the commission was hand-written. He said he had an old typewriter in his office, one copy typist and a clerk who handles two registries, one for the Chief Kadhi and the other for all the other kadhis. He had no other staff, and had no computer, filing cabinets, official car or other trappings of a modest public office. He acted as both the Chief Kadhi and the Kadhi of Mombasa.
There are 17 kadhis nationwide, in addition to the Chief Kadhi still based in Mombasa. Majority of kadhis are Form Four leavers with little or no formal training in Islamic or secular law, and join the service as third class magistrates equivalents of sh25,000 salary.

The total budget of the Kadhi’s courts for 2009/10 is just about Sh10 million. The Chief Kadhi is at Job Group P, a grade lower than the Chief Magistrate but on the same salary grade as a senior executive secretary at the High Court. Kadhis are in Job Group J, earning just under Sh25,000 per month, and in the same salary grade as junior accountants, librarians and water bailiffs in the Magistrate’s Courts. These are the Kadhi’s courts, which the Churches allege have placed Islam above other religions, and are creating a financial burden on the Government.
The Church does not have the authority to challenge the constitutional rights of other faithful. It cannot blow hot and cold on secular order when it rejects Kadhi’s courts as religious, yet argue against abortion and homosexuality on the same religious grounds. How far can we separate the Church and the State?
Protection of minority rights is not a privilege, and is not subjected to the wishes of the majority. It is also not correct to say that the constitution must of necessity apply equally to all Kenyans as there are several provisions giving special rights and privileges to certain communities, areas, women, and various sectors of the society.
To begrudge the inclusion of the Kadhi’s courts is much ado about nothing.
—The writer chairs the Religious Affairs Committee at Jamia Mosque, Nairobi. Courtesy of Standard Digital.