In the moment when some believe the scene is calm, history has already begun to move silently.
These are the defining moments in the lifetimes of nations. They do not come accompanied by the sound of cannons, nor do they announce themselves with fiery speeches; rather, they begin as great chapters in history do: with a calculated step and a precise movement, then the curtain rises on a new chapter, written in bold ink.
In Morocco now, the outlines of a quiet revolution are emerging, one that does not raise a loud banner nor vie for front-line attention, but instead is advancing—deliberately and resolutely—toward one of the most complex and sensitive issues: corruption. However, because every revolution has its guiding intellect, the state has chosen to start not from the peripheries or the margins of the institutions, but from the very core of power, from the heart of the center, where the judiciary and the public prosecution meet at a crossroads between the state and rights, between responsibility and accountability, between justice and influence.
It is no secret that the judiciary is a mirror of the state, and that the public prosecution—as the body that prosecutes on behalf of society—is the arm that holds the scales of justice. When the state begins its great battle from these two authorities, it unequivocally declares that the hand set to strike at corruption must, first and foremost, be pure, clean, and liberated from the residues of the past and its suspicions.
Some may misread the ongoing investigations targeting a number of judges, believing it to be a seasonal campaign or a temporary outburst. However, a closer look at the timing and the parties involved leads to one conclusion: Morocco is cautiously entering an era of reckoning with past accumulations—not in a revolutionary manner that topples institutions, but in a reformative manner that seeks to fix them from within.
We are witnessing not just a process of cleansing, but the beginning of a new design for a state trying to regain initiative, restore the law’s esteem, and signal from within its sovereign institutions the start of a battle that is not against individuals, but against a system that has long coexisted with corruption, to the extent that it started to protect and reproduce it.
The judiciary has a role in the coming phase that goes beyond issuing judgments or interpreting texts; it is called upon to reestablish trust between the state and society. Furthermore, the public prosecution should not only suffice with what is referred to it, but also take the initiative, act, and convince public opinion that it is not a protective shield for power centers, but rather the spearhead in the battle for purification.
Between the purified hand and the sword that will fall on the networks of corruption, the state must be attentive—not only to the street’s cries but also to the call of national conscience. For peoples that respect their institutions do not do so because they have been deceived by them but because they have seen these institutions hold themselves accountable before they hold others accountable.
Ultimately, every genuine reform begins with a simple question: Who will hold the judge accountable if he errs? And who will dare to touch the prosecution if it goes astray? Morocco, having dared to pose the question, is now responding with actions, not words.
