The Commission on Administrative Justice (the Ombudsman) has expressed concerns over the judiciary's delayed resolution to complaints and petitions filed against the judicial officers and staff.
The CAJ says it has received and forwarded over 700 cases of maladministration to the judiciary in the last five years. Out of these, 60 percent remain unresolved, “undermining the quest for justice for aggrieved Kenyans", explained the commission's Chairperson Charles Dulo.
“The prevalence of delays highlights the urgent need for efficiency improvements. Justice delayed is justice denied,” Mr Dulo said in Nairobi on Tuesday.
The complaints relate to the delay in issuing judgements, inefficiency, unresponsive official conduct, unlawful official conduct, manifest injustice, unfair treatment, abuse of power, and discourtesy.
According to the office of the Ombudsman, some complaints raise serious issues such as fraudulent access to money from the judiciary's deposit account, fraudulent use of deposited security through doctored proceedings, solicitation of bribes, inordinate delay in delivering judgments, and delivering 'air’ judgments (verbal rulings without written judgements).
Of the 700 complaints against the judiciary, 398 are pending resolution. The majority concern delays (449 cases), 13 of which are delays related to persons currently held in various prisons across the country, followed by inefficiency (91), manifest injustice (52), unresponsive conduct (49), and unfair treatment (32).
“Less common issues include unlawful official conduct (six), inaction (four), ineptitude (three), discourtesy (one), two Involved access to information, prejudicial conduct (one) and 10 complaints were outside the commission's mandate,” explained Mr Dulo, adding that “the same are complaints against the Judiciary, and pending resolution.”
The Commission, which has requested for a status report on the complaints that have simultaneously been lodged with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman (OJO), implored the Chief Justice Martha Koome to publish and publicise a status report on these complaints.
“Pursuant to its mandate under the Constitution, the Commission on Administrative Justice Act, and the Access to Information Act, the Commission on Administrative Justice Office of the Ombudsman) …urged the Chief Justice Martha Koome, to speedily and conclusively resolve complaints against the Judiciary,” said the commission.
The CAJ has further requested the Chief Justice to submit a compliance report on the status of such complaints to the Office of the Ombudsman within the next 21 days.
“Swift action is essential to uphold fairness and public confidence in the judiciary. To achieve this, recommended resolution mechanisms include streamlining case management, enforcing accountability, and fostering open communication with complainants,” said Mr Dulo.
