The Judiciary has assured Kenyans that court operations at Eldoret Court and the larger North Rift region are going on smoothly and that the requisite essentials for service delivery have been provided.
The Judiciary
communication unit denied claims that the operations had been grounded over
funding issues.
A statement from the
institution said the issue of funding had been addressed and there was no
paralysis of services due to the shortage of essentials such as stationery like
papers and pens.
Judiciary said
the funds required to run the courts for the first quarter of the year
2024/25, had been released.
The Judiciary further added that partial payment has also been made for the second quarter.
“There I, therefore, no crisis in Eldoret and the court
is well facilitated. We assure the public that the courts in Eldoret are up and
running with all the courts open and services have not in any way been halted
due to lack of funds,” said the Judiciary in a statement.
The Judiciary
statement was in response to a story done by the Star titled Lack of funds ground Eldoret court
operations.
The Star report quoted Eldoret Chief Magistrate Dennis Mikoyani who had confirmed that they had been hit by a severe shortage of funds that had affected court operations.
“It’s true we have not
received funding since May and this has greatly affected our operations,” said
Mikoyani.
He said they had requested funding which was yet to be availed by the time the Star published the story.
Mikoyani said the Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company (ELDOWAS) had threatened to disconnect the water supply to the courts due to nonpayment of bills.
Mikoyani however pleaded with the water firm not to disconnect the water as the issue of bills was being sorted out.
ELDOWAS commercial
services manager Fredrick Kosgei also confirmed that they had suspended the disconnection of the water to the courts after negotiating with the judiciary
officials.
“We agreed on the way forward and did not disconnect the water to the courts,” said Kosgei.
The Star had also reported that the courts had piling refunds for witnesses and other essentials for toilets like toilet paper and soap have also run out of supply.
“We still use papers and files to a large extent but we have not received supplies for some time now,” said one of the judges in the region.
However, the judiciary statement said the courts had enough stocks of stationery including pens, paper and files and that suppliers of other consumables and cleaning services were effectively servicing the courts.
Eldoret City has five judges and more than ten magistrates whose courts had been reported as affected by the shortages of essential commodities.
The judiciary says to enhance its services, it is also implementing an innovative and modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) electronic solution that will digitize most of the administrative processes and make functions, efficient, transparent, convenient and highly accountable.
“The rollout is underway in phases and is expected to be a game changer in consolidating the gains of embracing technology as an enabler of justice,” the Judiciary noted.
The judiciary however says it is aware of some recent public concerns arising from the switch to the new system/
“We appreciate the feedback which we are using to streamline and expedite completion of installation. The public is urged to support the uptake of the new ERP system as its benefits are immense,” the Judiciary said.
