• The notable transfer is that of Justice Mugure Thande. She was among the 13 judges who were moved in a reshuffle by the Judiciary.
•The Transfer of all Judicial Officers is done at the discretion of the Chief Justice. They must, however, be done in accordance with the transfer policy and guidelines for judicial officers.
Image: /FILE
The Judiciary has been receiving a significant addition to its human resources following the appointment of new judicial officers at different levels of the judicial structure.
This year, Chief Justice Martha Koome effected the routine transfer of judges following the appointment of several High Court judges to the Court of Appeal.
Transfers of judicial officers in 2023
The notable transfer is that of Justice Mugure Thande. She was among the 13 judges who were moved in a reshuffle by the Judiciary.
The judge was moved to Malindi Court in changes that were effected by Principal Judge of the High Court Justice Eric Ogola.
Justice Chacha Mwita replaced her as the presiding judge at the Milimani Constitutional and Human Rights Division. Mwita had previously served in that position.
Lady Justice Diana Kavedza headed to the new specialised courts at Kibra and Kahawa Courts, leaving her posting at the Milimani Criminal Division.
Justice David Majanja was deployed to the Civil Division from his post at the Commercial and Tax Division.
In the changes, the Nakuru High Court got a new presiding judge— Lady Justice Hedwig Ong'undi of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division at Milimani.
Justice Hillary Chemitei, who was presiding judge at the Nakuru High Court, was moved to the Milimani Family Division.
Lady Justice Maureen Odero who was heading the Milimani Family Division was moved to the high court in Nyeri as the presiding judge.
Discretion of the Chief Justice
The Transfer of all Judicial Officers is done at the discretion of the Chief Justice. They must, however, be done in accordance with the transfer policy and guidelines for judicial officers.
The policy is based on several principles. One of them is that the transfer of judicial officers should not result in undue disruption and delay in the delivery of justice.
The policy is also clear in that transfers will not be employed as a disciplinary tool and where both husband and wife are serving as judicial officers, effort shall be made to post them in the same station or region.
Usually, the normal tenure of posting for each judicial officer is three years save for extreme hardship stations where the tenure shall be two years.
However, the Chief Justice may where necessary retain a judicial officer in one station for no more than five years.
The transfers are deemed necessary to avoid officers becoming too familiar with their stations.
The policy states that Judicial Officers who serve for too long in one station will become too familiar with the community in the area including lawyers, litigants, police, prosecutors and other members of the public.
“Such familiarity may compromise the Judicial Officer’s impartiality with certain litigants, and his/her security,” it reads.
Special transfers
Under special transfers, medical grounds are considered.
The policy indicates that if a judicial officer, his or her spouse, or child is suffering from a disease that requires specialised treatment, the transfer will be effected to a station where the specialised treatment is available.
The policy further allows judicial officers to seek transfer on academic grounds. This applies to any officer enrolled in a programme of study that requires them to attend classes regularly.
Then there is transfer based on security reasons. This applies to those officers who feel their lives are at risk after a series of security threats.
Such a request is usually made to the Chief Justice in writing and must specify the details of the security threats to the judicial officer.
“In deciding where to post a Judicial Officer, the Judiciary is guided primarily by the need to serve justice with expediency. As such, Judicial Officers are posted, on appointment, to stations which need their services most given the amount and nature of work in the station,”.
The policy acknowledges that while transfers are important and necessary, they cause disruption in service delivery and the private lives of judicial officers and their respective families.
“If not properly managed, Transfers can be a source of stress and low morale for Judicial Officers, resentment between colleagues, and a buildup of case backlog,” reads the policy in part.