The Judiciary is set for a budget boost after the government allocated an extra Sh5 billion in the 2023/2024 financial year.
This is an increase from Sh18.8 billion in the financial year 2022/2023 to Sh23 billion.
The amount was announced by Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung' u on Thursday afternoon as he read the 2023-24 Budget estimates.
Since he took office last year, the Kenya Kwanza government had promised to increase the annual Judiciary budget by Sh3 billion annually.
President William Ruto said the budget will help construct the necessary infrastructure needed.
“We have committed to increasing it (budget) by Sh3 billion to make sure we also hire the requisite number of staff and build ICT facilities so that our Judiciary can deliver its mandate,” he said earlier.
The Annual State of the Judiciary Report 2022 had named insufficient funding as one of the challenges.
In its recommendations, the report said parliament should amend the law (PFM Act) to guarantee the Judiciary at least 2.5 per cent of the national budget to safeguard the financial autonomy of the Judiciary as envisaged in the Constitution.
“The additional funding will support the recruitment of judges, judicial officers and critical cadres of judicial staff to increase the human resource complement to at least 80 per cent of the approved establishment,” Ruto said.
Some of the funds will also go towards implementing the revised terms and conditions of service for judicial officers, reviewing terms and conditions of Service for judicial staff and also the establishment and construction of courts in counties and sub counties.