The Judiciary will recruit 50 more magistrates from next month to address case backlog in the institution.
Speaking during a meeting with principal and presiding judges from the High Court in Nairobi, Chief Justice Martha Koome said the gap created in the High Court by the recent elevation of 10 judges to the Court of Appeal will also be addressed.
She also need a multi-door approach like the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Court Annexed Mediation to offload cases from the courts.
“More than 5,000 cases had been resolved through mediation with a success rate of 60 per cent, thereby injecting Sh.14 billion back into the economy,” she said.
She said all cases in the courts should be active and consistently managed before a judge or the deputy registrar.
“We will also unveil Practice Directions developed by the Criminal and other Divisions of the High Court to support case management and docket organisation,” the CJ said.
Koome added that she will engage other stakeholders at the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) to encourage use of plea bargaining.
High Court Principal Judge Justice Lydia Achode said that various divisions of the High Court have been clearing case backlog through comprehensive case audits.
“The Commercial and Tax Division which had 7,497 cases as at June 30, 2020 has managed to clear 3,744 cases,” Justice Achode said adding that during the same period, 2,315 new cases were filed, leading to a caseload of 6,038 as at June 30 this year.
“The division has also adopted use of the Judiciary Transcription System where court proceedings are recorded and transcribed real-time,” she added.
In the Family Division, out of 4,519, 1,556 cases were resolved with another 2,621 new cases were filed.
The Civil Division, 1,869 cases were finalised over the same period out of 6,867, with an extra 1,979 new cases lodged.
In the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division, there were 190 cases pending as at June 30, 2020 with 75 cases resolved by June this year. Over the same period, 62 new cases were filed.
In the Judicial Review Division, 276 cases out of 1,153 cases were resolved, with another 342 cases filed over the same period.
397 cases were resolved out of 1,628, in the Criminal Division with another 918 cases filed.
In the Constitutional Division, 1,016 cases were pending, with an additional 454 cases filed and 407 finalised over a similar period.
Apart from the audits, the courts have adopted use of IT, updating the case tracking system, using service weeks, Rapid Result Initiatives and Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms to finalise pending cases.
However, the courts have faced a low number of judges, shortage of staff and lack of adequate court rooms to effectively handle cases.
Koome directed that all cases be resolved within three years of filing, and within a year in the appellate stage as part of her strategy to clear the case backlog.
