CJ Koome hints at ‘Special’ night Court sittings to address backlog of cases

MOMBASA,Kenya, June 29 – Chief Justice Martha Koome has revealed that the judiciary is in the process of formulating new innovative methods that will now see the Commercial Courts and the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Courts adopt ‘night court’ sessions.

The move is geared towards effective service delivery that will streamline services at the judiciary as well as address the backlog of cases that has long haunted the institution, stiflling the delivery of justice.

While presiding over the official opening of the 2nd Annual symposium for Tribunals in Mombasa county, Koome revealed that through the bottom-up approach, court stations will now be allowed to innovate unique interventions that will allow them to establish a case management system that best suits their needs.

“This means we will embrace shared leadership, meaning each judicial officer will be encouraged and supported to innovate and adopt measures to increase his or her efficiency in collaboration with the court users” said CJ Koome.

Meanwhile, the judiciary has kick started plans to establish small claims courts in the low-income areas, in a move aimed to reduce the distance litigants travel to access services.

Kenyans are said to travel an average of 175 kilometers in order to seek justice. And though the operations of the judiciary remain decentralized, backlog of cases continue to threaten its efficiency.

“The imperative goal of the bottom up approach to access to justice is expeditious delivery of justice with dignity and without discrimination; the need for adoption of the Bottom-Up approach is informed by the reality that the Judiciary is operating in a changed environment where Kenyans and investors expect quality, efficient and cost-effective delivery of service,” she said.

Recently Koome directed that no single case should stay in a trial court beyond three years and an appellate court beyond one year.

Days after Koome assumed office, the judiciary revealed that they alongside, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) were exploring ways to expedite delayed anti-corruption cases.

One such proposal is the holding of a service month to expedite the hearing of graft cases and judicial review cases.

During the service month, the two institutions also plan to hold community engagements.

Further, the ODPP and Judiciary are seeking to hold a justice week in a bid to decongest prisons.