The Judicial Service Commission has appointed Frida Boyani Mokaya as Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, a day after concluding the interviews.
Ms Mokaya, formerly the Registrar of the JSC beat six other candidates to the post to replace Anne Amadi, who retired from the Judiciary in December after 10 years as the CRJ.
She will serve for a term of five years. Ms Amadi succeeded Ms Gladys Boss after serving in the position from 2010 to 2013.
“The Commission congratulates Hon. Mokaya on her appointment and thanks all the candidates, stakeholders and Kenyans for their participation in the recruitment and selection process,” the JSC said through its chairperson, Justice Martha Koome.
As the CRJ, Ms Mokaya will serve as the chief administrator and the accounting officer of the Judiciary. She will also be the secretary to the JSC as well as secretary to the National Council on Administration of Justice.
She joined the Judiciary in 1997 and served as a District Magistrate II (Prof), Resident Magistrate, Senior Resident Magistrate, Principal Magistrate and Senior Principal Magistrate.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi and a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. Ms Mokaya is also a Certified Public Secretary (CPS-K).
While seeking the post, Ms Mokaya pointed out key priority areas for her first 100 days in office, the first year and five-year deliverables.
Among the areas she promised to focus on is the Judiciary Fund (JF), which Ms Mokaya pointed out that legal and operational constraints have emerged, ranging from exchequer predictability to payment inflexibilities and the lack of clarity on what happens to the unused funds.
“My focus treats the current JF implementation as the first round. An immediate priority is to perform a joint review, with Treasury and the Controller of Budget, on the fund’s performance,” she said.
Ms Mokaya added that once the review is completed and an action plan developed, she will embark on the second round of JF implementation, and monitor and evaluate it over the next financial year.
“In the medium-term, I envisage a Judiciary Fund supported by an integrated “policy to results” management information system, which I discuss further under my fourth strategic flagship,” she said in her ‘submissions’ titled The Road Ahead .
As the CRJ, Ms Mokaya said she will be expected to play a facilitative and supportive role in enabling the Chief Justice Koome and the Judiciary to achieve their laid out visions for success.
