Welcome to Kenya’s criminal justice system where the adage, justice delayed is justice denied, rings true despite successive efforts to streamline the resolution of disputes.
The latest efforts came in instructions by Chief Justice David Maraga two months ago that cases that have been in court for more than five years should be determined by the end of this year.
Former director of the NYS is now a free man. Thanks to the Judiciary #FailedJudiciary pic.twitter.com/tIgMYTAf1S
— Real Martoh 🇰🇪 (@realmartoh) October 17, 2018
“It is only when justice reaches the weak and the rule of law protects the indigent, that we, as a country, can say that our Constitution is living up to its juridical and developmental promise of equality and equity,” said Mr Maraga.
Judiciary records show that the number of cases that are older than five years in the High Court reduced from 48,173 in 2016 to 35,836 in November last year.
#FailedJudiciary
Slow wheels of Justice pic.twitter.com/JOjI6MdZ2i— Joe Muhahami (@Muhahami) October 17, 2018
It is this backlog that Mr Maraga is targeting. The overall case backlog reduced by nine per cent in 2017 alone. And the Judiciary is not solely to blame for the delays.
A study by the Judiciary in 2014, “Court Cases Delays: Impact Evaluation Diagnostic Study Report,” showed that delays were a collective problem that could only be addressed through concerted efforts by judicial officers, lawyers and litigants.
Rangwe MP George Oner was cleared of forgery and fraud charges that have haunted him for the past two years.
It was alleged that Mr Ogalo made a false document on or before March 6, 2008 with the intent to defraud Mr Benson Ritho Mureithi.#FailedJudiciary— Kevin Munyui (@ismunyui) October 17, 2018
A majority of the pending cases are at the magistrate courts where nearly half – 49.5 per cent – of criminal cases took up to a year and four months to be concluded. Criminal cases could only be resolved on the same day the plea was taken if an accused person was found guilty.
Delays in conclusion of criminal cases were attributed to courts being out of session (22.4 per cent), unpreparedness by litigants (19.1 per cent), police and probation officers unpreparedness (18.3 per cent) and lawyers unpreparedness (11 per cent).
The new Chief Justice David Maraga has admitted that corruption is rife in the judiciary but has promised to tackle it head on. #FailedJudiciary pic.twitter.com/8GcoLMCHhh
— PRETTY KENYAN 😍 (@PrettyKenyan10) October 17, 2018
Frequent adjournments – a key cause of case delays – were found to arise from lawyers not being ready to proceed for various reasons, absent parties including the accused and witnesses, plea of “not guilty” entered, police file not in court, consent by parties to adjourn, judicial officers being away, expert witness being absent, plaint amendment, parties seeking out of court settlement, judicial officer being sick, among others.
The 2014 report recommended planning in advance for transfers and other trainings that may require judicial officers to be away from their station; strengthening collaboration among key stakeholders such as lawyers, police, prosecution and probation officers. Training judicial officers on case management to facilitate speedy movement of matters brought before them was also recommended.
The CJ is always busy with workshops and seminars in Monbasa, He's been non-committal about the war on corruption.#FailedJudiciary
— Polycarp Hinga® 🇰🇪 (@PolycarpHinga) October 17, 2018
A total of 100 courts are currently under construction across the country as part of efforts to bring justice closer to the people – 30 funded by the World Bank at approximately Sh12 billion under the Judicial Performance Improvement Project (JPIP) and 70 funded by the national government.
Terrorists have found a haven in our courts #FailedJudiciary pic.twitter.com/0fsrP2A7UR
— Mwangi X Muthiora🗨️ (@MwangiMuthiora) October 17, 2018
According to Mr Nicholas Simani, the JPIP communications consultant, some of the courts will be completed this year.
'; Welcome to Kenya’s criminal justice system where the adage, justice delayed is justice denied, rings true.
'; #FailedJudiciary— Kibet Benard (@KibetBenard_) October 17, 2018
Kenyans have expressed their disatisfaction over the issue over and over again.