CJ Koome wants inmates on good conduct released to decongest prisons

Speaking on Monday during the annual High Court leaders conference, Koome asked the judges to visit prisons across the country and review inmate files to deduce the numbers that can be productive to society through community service.

"All the resident and presiding judges across all stations should visit prisons and see how you decongest the prisons, review the sentences and look at those with good conduct and are eligible to do community service," said the CJ.

The CJ also reiterated that tackling the problem of case backlog demands rethinking case management in fundamental ways. She said cases in the courts should not take more than three years to conclude and those in the appeals court not more than a year.

“This Conference is an avenue for spirited and open conversations geared towards reexamining our practices and re-engineering them to improve the efficiency of our Courts,” she stated.

"We have now set our benchmark for expedited delivery of justice by ensuring that no court stays in a trial court for more than three years, and no more than one year appeal."

The conference had mainly been set to discuss core priorities and backlog reduction strategies to support a vision christened ‘Social Transformation through Access to Justice’.

Outcomes of the Conference included a firm resolve to reverse the perennial problem of missing files accounting for 16% of the reasons for adjournment, full uptake of ICT, better welfare for judicial officers and staff, timely and proper Court returns will be fully implemented.