Chief Justice Martha Koome has voiced concerns over what she termed as attempts to interfere with the effectiveness of the Judiciary through budgetary cuts.
Koome who was speaking during the CJ's Annual Development Partners Round Table in Nairobi cited the ICT budget which she said has been scrapped.
According to Koome, this has greatly hindered service delivery to the people.
“When you hear the ICT budget is cut to zero, dear friends, that keeps me awake at night...Our servers are getting old and tired because of too many cases being filed and we cannot be able to renew those servers,” she said.
In the 2024-25 financial year, the Judiciary was allocated Sh21.9 billion against a budget of Sh44.9 billion.
The shortfall, she noted, has placed significant constraints on their ability to achieve the strategic goals.
The CJ at the same time stated that due to insecurity concerns, they have been forced to pull down the makeshift courts they had set up in some parts of the country in a bid to try and address infrastructural challenges.
A key aspect of this transformation is increasing the Judiciary’s footprint to secure access to justice, in line with SDG 16.
The High Court now operates in 46 of the 47 counties, but challenges remain, particularly in achieving our goal of establishing Magistrate Courts in all 290 constituencies, she said.
“Currently, only 139 constituencies have Magistrates’ Courts, leaving over 151 constituencies without a court,” said Koome.
This, she noted, represents an area where we can collaborate further to address the justice gap facing these communities.
She also highlighted key interventions aimed at decongesting the prisons to address overcrowding.
Through the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI), the Judiciary is reviewing bond and bail terms, and sentences to alleviate congestion and enhance the rehabilitation of offenders.
The correctional facilities currently hold more inmates than their intended capacity, undermining their rehabilitative role, said Koome.
