A change is coming.

One week ago, Nancy Baraza was just one of the bigwigs of Kenya going about their business, surviving the minor indignity of having to confront some uppity security officer - a species that seems to have materialised out of thin air ever since Kenya decided to launch a military offensive against a shadowy terrorist outfit operating out of Somalia. Not even she could have predicted the speed with which her colleagues would act to put to rest the fallout from The Village Market incident. Yesterday the Judiciary Service Commission decided to recommend to the President that he suspend her and appoint a tribunal to investigate the Deputy Chief Justice's conduct. If the tribunal finds her guilty of the charge of gross misconduct or gross misbehaviour, her's will be the shortest-lived tenure on Kenya's nascent Supreme Court.

When Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga decided to call into session the JSC to investigate the incident, he sent a powerful message to the public about his resolve in giving the Judiciary a new lease of life. When the JSC appointed a task force to investigate the circumstances of the incident, many scoffed, reminding Kenyans that task forces and committees were the time-tested vehicles for burying unpleasant events and pulling the wool over Kenyans' eyes when they wanted to whitewash the actions of the high and mighty. But, today, the JSC stands proud in that it has put fidelity to the law above any considerations for the great and good of this country. It is now for the President, and the tribunal he appoints, to put this matter finally to rest. Kenyans must be prepared to live with the decision of the tribunal, whether it means the dismissal of the DCJ from office or some sort of reprimand that permits her to continue in office. Either way, the Chief Justice and the JSC have demonstrated that it is no longer business as usual.

The CJ's actions so far have put men in positions of power in an awkward position. It is standard practice that every time a politician or a policeman or some other bigwig is in trouble, they close ranks and ensure that the matter never sees the light of day. What the CJ has done is to abandon that time-tested system and institute a new rule: no more special favours. It would have been simplicity itself to sweep the matter under the carpet by paying off the security guard and ensuring that she caused no more trouble, perhaps even using the police to reinforce the message. That he has decided to break with this system is proof positive that his designs on the Judiciary are not merely cosmetic, but that root-and-branch reforms are well and truly underway. What the powers-that-be see of these changes remains to be seen.

For the time being, at least, the Judiciary can claim to have set off on a mission that the rest of government must follow if it is to be trusted by Kenyans. Even the latest ruling by the Constitutional Court in the Elections Date Case must be seen in this light. Justices Lenaola, Ngugi and Majanja have declared that short of the President and Prime Minister dissolving the Grand Coalition in time for an August general election, it will be held in 2013. Reading the judgment, Justice Lenaola declared that despite the fact that the ruling would offend some Kenyans, fidelity to the written word of the law was what was important. It is now apparent that the Judiciary will lead where the rest of the instruments of power must follow. They have no choice but to do what is just in the interests of Kenyans. It remains to be seen whether they will.