Be Defenders Of The “No Adjournment” Policy, CJ Koome Tells Magistrates

NAIROBI,KEnya, Jan 12 – Chief Justice Martha Koome wants new magistrates to be the defenders of the “no adjournment” policy that is geared towards ensuring that matters are heard to conclusion once set down for hearing.

The CJ said the Judiciary was moving from an era when the pace of movement of cases was left to the dictates of advocates and litigants.

She also called on the officers to adopt “active case management” which she said is important to improve Judiciary’s performance.

“It is now expected that once pleadings are closed, judicial officers and registry staff should ensure that a file is not left idle in the registry but should be under action until conclusion and closure,” CJ Koome said.

The Chief Justice asked the magistrates to meet Judiciary’s target of ensuring that no case remains unresolved in a Trial Court for more than three years.

CJ Koome urged them to ensure that they champion and embrace the tools and work methodologies geared towards improving efficiency and performance in the delivery of justice like leveraging on technology, and timeously submitting daily performance returns that are key to our performance evaluation and management.

She was speaking at the Supreme Court Building in Nairobi when she presided over the swearing-in ceremony of 64 new magistrates and Small Claims Court adjudicators.