Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has said that WJF, an association of Judges, Magistrates, and Lawyers drawn from Western Kenya’s five counties of Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia, and Trans Nzoia, provides an opportunity and a platform to seat together, regardless of respective political affiliations, unite and reflect on the socio-economic challenges and opportunities as one community.
“Politics should never divide us. We are one community, and shall always remain one,” said Mudavadi.
WJF was holding its annual dinner on Saturday in Nairobi.
During the event, WJF, which was established five years ago, launched its Strategic Plan dubbed ‘Consolidating the gains, empowering the base and readying for the future: It is time’.
The PCS said since 2019, WJF has attracted a membership of over 500 Jurists and still counting.
He urged WJF to build ethical and sound institutional frameworks that will make it outlive the founders and members.
“WJF has now assumed a life and momentum of its own. We must build it for posterity and not just for us present here today. It has also established and now operates, the Western Jurists Sacco, (WJS)as the economic mobilization arm,” said Mudavadi.
He added: “You have slowly but consistently focused on selling WJF’s vision and mission to Western lawyers, popularizing the Association and recruiting members. You needed not just to come together, but also, to stay together.”
Mudavadi lauded the forum for staying together, against all odds and urged them the reach out to more members to make it grow further.
“Staying together is always the hardest part. I congratulate you for believing in yourselves, for the courage and the stamina to remain focused. Our community needs these virtues a great deal.”
At the same time, Mudavadi said WJS is a fully registered SACCO mobilizing Savings and Credit from its members and urged all to save regularly, borrow wisely and invest thus improve individual and socio-economic welfare.
“The WJS is our community’s response to the socio-economic challenges that continue to confront our people. It’s a mustard seed that should be nurtured well so as to make it grow into a greater financial institution, one day. I pray for your success. These steps by WJF dove tail into our government’s Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda(BETA),” Mudavadi explained.
As part of its contribution to the global and national conversation around climate Change, he said WJF will, for the next five years, embark on a massive Tree-Fencing exercise targeting primary and secondary schools in the five Counties.
This is expected to inculcate in the young learners the desire to protect the environment as a lifestyle thereby making them the next generation of environmental torchbearers
It will also ensure that gradually, schools have tree fences around them securing privacy for the learners as well as increasing tree tree-coverage within the region.
He said plans are also underway to introduce WJF Virtual Learning Hub as part of preparing the youths for the future of work.
This will focus on critical skills training such as AI and Machine Learning Training Renewable Energy Engineers Solar Energy Installation Professionals
Sustainability Specialists; and Software Development skills (coding).
“I must commend you for mentoring and nurturing young people into the leadership of WJF as evidenced by the fact that the Sacco’s Chairperson, Zack Alakonya, is a youth. They are the torch bearers when we are long departed and they should be supported to learn from us while we all can,” he said.
KBC Digital
