During the meeting which was also attended by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Supreme Court Judge Jackton Ojwang’ and members of the Judicial Service Commission, Maraga briefed the Swiss President on programs being implemented under the Judicial Transformation Initiative whose core agenda is to enhance access to justice/JUDICIARY
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 10 – Chief Justice David Maraga on Monday hosted visiting Switzerland leader Alain Berset for talks on cooperation in the areas of governance and administration of justice.
During the meeting which was also attended by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Supreme Court Judge Jackton Ojwang’ and members of the Judicial Service Commission, Maraga briefed the Swiss President on programs being implemented under the Judicial Transformation Initiative whose core agenda is to enhance access to justice.
According to the State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice Report (SOJAR) 2016-2017, published in December 2017, the Judiciary is keen on enhancing access to justice by ensuring court facilities are established closer to citizens.
The establishment of a High Court station in each of the 47 counties as required by Section 12 (1) of the High Court Organisation and Administration Act was identified as a key target in the report released on December 15.
“We already have established 39 High Courts in 38 counties, meaning, only nine counties still remain without a High Court station,” Justice Maraga reported during the release of SOJAR 2016/17.
“Makueni, Nyahururu and Narok High Court stations were established during the reporting period,” he remarked.
The Judiciary is also seeking to establish a Magistrate’s Court in each of the 290 sub-counties (constituencies) nationwide according to the report.
The report also captured an increase in the number of judicial officers with the appointment of 28 new judges during the period under review.
“Whereas at the start of the transformation journey in 2011 Kenya had only 53 judges, today, the number stands at 159, with 28 having been appointed in the year under review,” Justice Maraga said.
The number of magistrates stood at 421 and that of Kadhis at 55 by the time the report was being published.
The judges, magistrates, and Kadhis, however, face an uphill task – that of expediting the clearance of 533,350 cases pending at various courts – with over 60,000 of those having been in pendency for between 5-10 years which he promised to have concluded by the end of the year 2018.
“Sixty-six thousand, two hundred and fourteen cases are aged 5-10 years and we have embarked on an accelerated case clearance programme to conclude all cases that are older than five years by the end of 2018,” Maraga announced during the SOJAR 2016/17 launch.
President Berset is set to wind up his official tour later on Tuesday by visiting the Kakuma refugee camp for which he hailed Kenya’s commitment to international statutes during a joint media briefing with President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday, at State House Nairobi.
“The refugee issue in not just a Kenyan issue but an issue for the international community and that is why we stand with Kenya in efforts to manage these issues,” President Berset said.
He said committed to work closely with Kenya in advocating for the protection of displaced persons.
“At a time the multilateral system is put under high pressure, Switzerland strongly believes in international cooperation, respect for international law, and culture for dialogue. We much appreciated the leading role Kenya is playing at the United Nations,” Berset said pledging closer collaboration with Kenya.
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