Koome:119 magistrates to handle election offences cases
The Judiciary is in the process of appointing special magistrates to hear cases of election offences, including incitement and hate speech.
Chief Justice Martha Koome said the names of 119 magistrates will soon be gazetted.
The CJ said courts prioritising crimes of hate speech will be set up in select hotspots to deal with matters under the National Cohesion and Integration Act.
Some of the designated areas include Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nakuru.
Koome said the Judiciary was also preparing an election preparedness work plan to handle election-related disputes.
Part of the plan, the CJ said, includes the ongoing training of judicial officers in collaboration with the Kenya Judiciary Academy (KJA).
Koome said the training targets 361 judicial officers who will handle disputes involving the elections.
“This number is enhanced from the previous electoral cycles to facilitate expeditious disposal of emerging disputes,” the CJ said during the 9th Heads of Station forum in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu yesterday.
As part of measures to clear the backlog of cases, the Judiciary has adopted a “no adjournment policy” where courts are expected to submit Daily Court Returns by the 5th day of every month.
“A performance liaison officer has been posted to every court to oversee data management,” said the CJ.
Koome said that in the second quarter of the Financial Year 2021/22, pending cases in magistrates courts increased from 512,454 to 532,369, a four per cent rise.
“We need to devise strategies to reverse the trend by adopting versatile case management strategies. I urge you to prioritise these cases,” the CJ told magistrates.
According to the CJ, 95,160 cases pending in magistrates courts were older than three years.
Koome also presided over the commissioning of the first small claims court in Eldoret.
The court will help in boosting access to justice and expeditious determination of commercial disputes whose value is below Sh1 million.
Eldoret’s joins a list of seven courts established in seven counties outside Nairobi to offer small claims courts services. The others are in Kajiado,Kakamega,Kisumu, Machakos,Makueni, Meru and Mombasa.
Justice Koome said the Judiciary plans to roll out at least ten stations of small claims court in other regions before the end of the financial year.
