At the conception of The Sages project, we were determined to make it Pan African, even if it would stretch us logistically to do so. Our stated objective has been to capture the reflections of many of our distinguished senior scholars in electronic audio-visual formats for younger generations of Africans across Global Africa. We have considerable evidence that younger generations consume media differently, and so if literature (old fashioned print) is not augmented by audio visual channels, lots of past scholarship will simply lose functional effectiveness.

Professor Mutunga is the first non-Ghanaian Sage, but there will be many more from all over continental Africa, and also the diaspora in the Caribbean, North America, etc. He is a man of an unusual blend of attributes; hardened freedom fighter but also soft-spoken and compassionate. He is the ex-Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya (2011-2016), ex-political detainee at the hands of the Moi-Nyayo Gestapo, ex-academic and more.

In this wide-ranging and very original conversation, Mutunga shares deeply from his life experiences; right from being born in the village and riding the education bus to get to the apex of his chosen profession.

He reminisces on life in the University of Dar es Salaam in the era when it was known as a crucible for progressive scholars. The faculty while he was there included famous names like, Giovanni Arrighi, Walter Rodney and Akilagpa Sawyerr. He was a student at the same time as people like Professor Issa Shivji, and Yoweri Museveni.

Willy Mutunga talks about becoming a young academic at the University of Nairobi and fighting the Kenyan dictatorship for academic freedom, which included a frontal battle to get Ngugi wa Thiong'o out of prison. For his reward, Mutunga was locked in prison for 16 months.

He has many things to say about geopolitics and its implications for Africa. Mutunga does not hedge when he speaks, his remarks on the African condition are scalding in some parts, but honest. That feature transcends even into discussions of how to treat sexuality in Africa, a subject many dare not broach. And Ruto, the current President of Kenya, does not get off lightly, nor does Museveni.

In this interview, Willy Mutunga shares from a highly personal, but still professional vantage point, what it is like to be a Chief Justice that adjudicates over a presidential petition in a politically hyper-polarised society.

I recommend this episode of The Sages to you. Mutunga keeps the refreshing quality traditions of The Sages, in elevating development discourse beyond what he calls "the politics of division." The noisy partisan factionalism that will kill us if we do not kill it first does not gain expression here, people can disagree, even disagree assertively, but still be civil. We are grateful that he made time to do this.

Watch Prof Willy Mutunga on The Sages which airs on the JoyNews Channel at 12pm this Saturday, June 22.