Suspects must not hide faces

Chief Justice David Maraga is concerned about the increasing tendency by suspects to appear in courts concealing their faces as it is interfering with the delivery of justice. The issue has been seriously debated following the arraigning of Kenya Revenue Authority employees over corruption allegations. It goes without saying that it is important that suspects be clearly identified.

How are magistrates and judges expected to know for sure who the people appearing before them are if they are produced in court with their faces covered?

It’s reassuring, therefore, to hear the CJ pronounce himself on this matter, which has, unfortunately, drawn attention to the courts for the wrong reason. When public attention is not on the administration of justice, but needless drama and weird antics, this amounts to a denigration of a vital institution in enforcing law and order in society. While the right to privacy must be protected, where it seems to interfere with the administration of justice, it must never be allowed. Indeed, due process is to have suspects, especially in criminal matters easily identified and connected to the charges they are facing. Magistrates and judges must never entertain behaviour that puts the courts and the serious business they execute to disrepute. Even where there is a religious justification, such as the requirement for Muslim women to wear the hijab or some other regalia, as the CJ has pointed out, they still must comply with court directions when required. This cannot be said of the huge dark glasses and hoods that some people have taken to wearing whenever they are taken to court.

As some people have rightly pointed out, when suspects who were arrested without hoodies and other paraphernalia turn up in court covering their faces with them, then the source of the items must be questioned. Could there, for instance, be a new racket in which the arresting officers are profiteering from selling or renting out such items?

Simply being taken to court does not mean that the suspects are guilty. There should be no reason for them to feel ashamed and hide their faces unless they have done something wrong. After all, they are innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.