CJ Koome highlights Judiciary achievements as she marks one year in office

Highlighting the achievements of the Judiciary while commemorating one year in office, Chief Justice Martha Koome noted that a total of 328,104 cases have been concluded in the same period.

"During the period, the Judiciary managed to reduce cases backlog, that is, cases that have been in the system for more than three (3) years, by 14% from 375,822 at the End of FY 2020/21 to 322,169 at the end of the period. Additionally, cases over 5 years were reduced by 19% from 150,376 to 121,130 cases," Koome said.

Koome noted that the institution has also seen the  establishment of a Judiciary Police Unit with 3,000 police officers.

At the same time, the construction of four claims courts in Nairobi is underway in partnership with the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS). Keen on revamping  judicial education, the Judiciary has been allocated 55 acres for the construction of the Kenya Judiciary Academy.

The Judiciary is also keen on expanding the Environment and Land Court to 37 court stations, and the Employment and Labour Relations Court to 11 court stations.

"We are hopeful that by the end of this year, we will have significantly expanded the reach of the High Court to almost all counties and re-established the operations of the Court of Appeal in Nyeri," said Koome.

She also lauded the Exchequer for the budgetary allocation of Ksh.18.9 billion from the previous year’s allocation of Ksh.17.9 billion. Koome noted that plans are on course to operationalize Judiciary Service Desks in 52 Huduma Centres across the country.

At the same time, the Chief Justice exuded hope that 100 Small Claims Courts operational by the end of this year.

"These courts are vested with the mandate of determining cases that involve claims of less than Ksh.1 million. As at 26th April 2022, we already had 8,811 cases filed. The Courts have heard and determined 5,576 cases over the last one year. These concluded cases are worth Ksh.983,546,722," she added.

Other plans in the Judiciary's pipeline include the setting up of the special Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Court in Shanzu (Mombasa). The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) is also decentralizing its operations to seven regions.The Judiciary has also embraced alternative dispute resolution methods through Court-Annexed Mediation and Alternative Justice Systems (AJS). To this end, 2,323 cases have been referred to Mediation.   

Koome, who was speaking during the Judiciary's National Day of Prayer and Fasting, called for commitment and dedication from all Judiciary Staff in order to deliver justice for all.