Chief Justice Martha Koome has said that all persons recommended by Judicial Service Commission(JSC) and as directed by the constitution must be appointed as judges.
Speaking during the swearing-in of Justice Daniel Musinga, Koome has called on the president to appoint the six judges that he exempted in his appointment.
“….that is the law. I am a judge and do not want to enter into any controversy cause at the end of the day I shouldn’t. I am an adjudicator but I’m duty bound to reiterate this position and continue to call His Excellency the President to appoint the six remaining judges,” she said.
According to Koome, since she took office, the independence of the judiciary remains under serious threats of capture and the culprits unfortunately are not only limited to agencies within government or politics but also includes private sectors.
She has called on to parties to respect the constitution and the Judiciary and not direct judges on what to do.
On the 2021/2022 budget, she called on parliament and national assembly to fully fund Judiciary budget.
“If we are to tackle the backlog of cases, adopt technology for efficiency, take justice closer to the people and increase speed of resolution of cases, then we require funds,” she said.
The Judiciary lost about Sh800 million in the Sh3.66 trillion budget read in parliament yesterday by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani.
The law-implementing Arm of Government has been allocated Sh17.9b in the coming financial year, a marginal decline from Sh18.1b allocated in the 2020/2021 financial year.
This, even as the Executive and Legislature bag Sh1.946 trillion and Sh37.9 billion respectively in Kenya’s biggest budget in history. Counties have been allocated Sh370billion.
“Counties will receive an additional Sh7.5b from revenues and another Sh32.3b from partners. This means that counties will bag about Sh410billion as a way of showing the government’s commitment to supporting devolution,” Yatani said.
The CJ congratulated Musinga and said she is looking forward to working with him.
