President William Ruto yesterday promised more goodies for the Judiciary as he dismissed claims that his administration plans to capture the arm of government.
Speaking during the launch of the inaugural report of the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) in Nairobi, the President made key pledges to the Judiciary, saying that the support will be key in the delivery of timely and efficient justice.
The Head of State said his administration will unlock financial resources to facilitate access to justice throughout the country in terms of infrastructure and personnel.
He said that the government will also help to expedite the setting up of four pending small claims courts in Nairobi. The President assured Chief Justice Martha Koome that the undertaking will be delivered within 90 days despite budgetary challenges the country is currently grappling with.
“I will talk to the governor of Nairobi so that we expedite the completion of the courts because they have bottom-up benefits,” said President Ruto.
The Head of Sate said he has directed the Attorney-General to present to Cabinet two crucial Bills affecting the Judiciary for consideration and onward submission to Parliament. One of the Bill, he said, was on judges’ pensions.
“I have told the CJ that this will be a contributory scheme ... It will go a long way in supporting the judges,” said the President.
The other one is the Tribunal Bill, also to be presented to the Cabinet today, which seeks to provide infrastructure necessary to decongesting the court system.
Both President Ruto and the Judiciary leadership have come under attack by the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition who have claimed the Judiciary is “dancing to the tune of the executive” as it cited the dropping of several high profile cases.
Azimio leader Raila Odinga went as far as saying the President was working hard to capture the judicial system through the appointment of six judges rejected by his predecessor and promises of budgetary increment.
However, President Ruto yesterday pointed out that his support to the Judiciary is only meant to help the arm of government effectively deliver justice.
“They can confirm to you that I have never made a telephone call to anybody to ask them to do anything,” he said.
The President noted that since the establishment of NCAJ more than 11 years ago, public confidence in the justice system has risen steadily,.
He challenged the Judiciary to prioritise criminal justice system reforms in order to catch up with best practices, saying that custodial sentencing should not be the default.
“Delays in cases are more prejudicial than the eventual penalty on conviction. The prejudice is compounded where the accused turns out to be not guilty,” he said.
Further, he urged the judicial system to embrace use of technology, alternative dispute resolution approaches to achieve justice without overburdening the justice system.
