Attorney General Dorcas Oduor speaks at the Administration of Justice in Kenya Annual Report 2023–2024 launch at Safari Park Hotel, November 6, 2024/HANDOUT
Attorney General Dorcas Oduor has called for urgent intervention to resolve over 11,200 cases pending against the government.
Oduor said the cases, some stretching back to 1992, are clogging the legal system and hindering access to justice.
Speaking during the launch of the Administration of Justice in Kenya Annual Report 2023–2024 at Safari Park Hotel on Wednesday, she called for a thorough review to determine the relevance of the cases.
“We need to look at other ways of disposing of these cases,” Oduor said.
“They are hampering the space for more deserving cases and slowing down access to justice for Kenyans,” she said.
She proposed convening a convention with the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) to assess these cases’ viability, aiming to remove outdated or redundant ones and reduce the overwhelming backlog.
Oduor highlighted that these cases, unresolved for decades, not only contribute to congestion in courts but also create financial and administrative burdens.
She said budget constraints and staffing shortages limit the State Law Office’s ability to keep up with the sheer volume of government-related cases.
“Budgetary allocation in the criminal justice sector must be looked at holistically. Not one institution can be efficient if another one is not,” she said.
Oduor appealed for collaboration across all criminal justice agencies to expedite the cases, which she says obstruct new cases and essential legal processes.
She noted that her office has also begun digitizing records to streamline case management but that much work remains.
“Currently, we have digitised 112,402 files, but the remaining manual records add to delays and inefficiencies,” she said.
The AG emphasised the need for a clear system to address government cases more rapidly.
“We need resources and a unified approach to ensure that cases don’t remain unresolved for decades, denying justice to the public.”
Oduor urged government departments to work together and prioritise backlog clearance, and advocated for legal reforms and resource allocation to build an efficient, accessible justice system for all Kenyans.
She reiterated her commitment to Kenya’s justice reforms noting that cross-agency collaboration is essential.
