Chief Justice Martha Koome has said there's a need to align criminal laws with the 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
In a statement released by the CJ while convening a consultative meeting of the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) on Tuesday, she termed the current penal laws to contain a lot of outdated provisions.
"Our penal laws are over half a century old and contain many outdated provisions with colonial underpinnings, which do not reflect the current Kenyan society. There is an urgent need to align criminal laws with the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, ''she said.
The head of the Judiciary stated that in their pursuit of long-term sustainability and effectiveness, the NCAJ is actively working on the development of a draft NCAJ Bill.
She said the Bill seeks to establish the Council under its own act of Parliament, reinforcing its capacity to fulfill its mandate effectively.
"We provided a detailed overview of the proposed legislative reforms in the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code," Koome said.
A penal code is a code of laws concerning crimes and their punishments.
The CJ further expressed her gratitude for the unwavering commitment and collaborative efforts of the multi-agency committee on Criminal Justice Reforms (NCCJR), led by Lady Justice Grace Ngenye, Judge of Appeal.
She emphasised the importance of providing regular updates on the ongoing proposed review of the criminal justice process to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee(JLAC)
Koome reiterated that the commitment is to enhance access to justice at the community level, and invite closer collaboration to achieve shared objectives.
