President Ruto decries poor state of toilets at the Supreme Court

President William Ruto has decried the lack of enough functional toilet facilities used by judges at the Supreme Court's premises in Nairobi.

Speaking at the apex court's headquarters on Friday during the launch of the State of the Judiciary and Justice Report, President Ruto ceded that the facilities were in a sorry state after he used the facilities moments before making his address.

"When I stood to walk out, I went to check on the toilets and the ablution block set up outside the premises and I confirm that indeed we need to do something about our Judiciary," said Dr Ruto.

The Head of State's sentiments followed an earlier statement made by Chief Justice Martha Koome, who spoke a few moments before the president decrying that the judiciary was not operating optimally due to significant budgetary, infrastructural and human constraints.

To further put her point across, in regards to the aforesaid infrastructural deficits, Koome noted that the Supreme Court buildings did not have an in-house ablution block pointing out that one had to be constructed outside due to budgetary hindrances.

"I have asked myself many times why we have to build prefabricated structures on the rooftop of a building that is a national museum then I was told there was no money to do better than to just build those prefabs. I also wondered why we built a toilet out there when we could have just built it in the building but I was told the money that was there could only afford to build one outside," said Koome.

According to CJ Koome, both judges and lawyers frequenting the apex court's premises have been forced to go outside the campus to relieve themselves at other nearby establishments owing to the inadequate number of available toilet facilities.

"So we all have to keep walking outside or sometimes even to nearby hotels because the facilities are not sufficient," she said.

President Ruto however promised that his administration would address Koome's concerns.

"The state of the Judiciary matters because the government’s mandate to ensure stability, enforce law and order, resolve disputes, maintain security, guarantee safety and promote well-being directly relies on the existence of an effective and efficient legal system," he said.

"The workings of our judicial system demonstrate the extent to which individual welfare, economic efficiency, State capacity and fundamental rights are intertwined. If you care about the economy, or national security, or constitutional rights, or how individual citizens fare, you must care about the state of our judiciary."

"I reiterate my commitment to the people of Kenya that I intend to empower the judiciary as required by the Constitution and respect the decisions and orders of the courts," he said.