Kenyan Activist Challenges Presence of Naked Boy Statue at Supreme Court

The High Court of Kenya has received a petition from Kiambu County community leader John Mweha seeking the removal of the controversial ‘Naked Boy’ statue situated near the Supreme Court.

Mweha, invoking Article 37 of the Constitution, has appealed to Chief Justice Martha Koome to address this matter. The statue, officially known as ‘Boy with Fish’, was erected during the colonial era by Gertrude Hamilton in honour of her husband, Alexander George Hamilton. Mweha’s petition, dated August 9, outlines several grounds for the statue’s removal. He argues that the naked depiction of a young boy is culturally insensitive and offensive, conflicting with Kenyan values of respect and dignity as enshrined in Article 10 of the Constitution.

Furthermore, Mweha contends that the statue, a relic of the colonial era, undermines Kenya’s efforts towards decolonization and does not resonate with the country’s post-colonial identity. Additional concerns raised in the petition include the statue’s alleged misrepresentation of justice as slippery, its depiction of judicial immaturity, and its purported mockery of the judicial system. Mweha also points to the statue’s lack of global relevance and potential negative impact on international perceptions of Kenya and its values. In response to the petition, the High Court of Kenya, through Chief Registrar of Judiciary Hon Winfridah B. Mokaya, defended the statue’s symbolism.

The court’s statement, dated August 20, asserted that the statue represents the innocence, openness, and fearlessness of the judicial system, akin to other judicial symbols worldwide. The court emphasized the statue’s historical significance, having stood for nearly a century and now constituting part of Kenya’s public memory related to its judicial history. The High Court referred Mweha to the Kenya National Museums, noting that the Supreme Court is a recognized national monument gazetted in 1995.

“The statue symbolizes justice as naked (open), innocent, blind and fearless or courage-filled akin to a child who, indiscriminately engages all regardless of stature. It now constitutes Kenya’s public memory that relates to our judicial history having stood for close to a century.” The statement reads.

However, the National Museums of Kenya clarified that the ‘Naked Boy’ statue was not explicitly mentioned in the gazettement of the Supreme Court as a National Monument. In a statement to the media, the petitioner mentions that he plans to return to the High Court to find a resolution to the issue.