Maraga’s new line-up after a public lecture.

Appointment of Maraga as the Chief Justice was received with praise from different corners as he was seen as the perfect match to change the shape of judiciary in Kenya.

But few months down the line nothing has changed. In fact things have gone out of hand in the judiciary. It has turned to be a house of shame.

The judiciary according to a recent report is just messy. Things are not moving as expected. Their is total rot in the system.

According to the report dubbed ‘Judiciary Organisation Review’ there is a mismatch of job roles in the Judiciary and there are no clear job descriptions.

The report reveals that some staff, including judicial officers, have no clue how a computer works.

It was also established that there were those who held positions that they had no qualification in.

The report further  that states taff in the Judiciary are often transferred to new stations but their job titles do not change to reflect their new responsibilities.

At the Supreme Court, the report reveals that there is unclear reporting line for staff working for the Chief Justice.

It also showed a lack of criteria for allocation of staff to judges at the highest court in the land, such that some had more staff than others.
The other startling revelation was incorrect job responsibilities assigned to a job title.

For instance, a store keeper was tasked to negotiate contracts and procurement roles while an accounts assistant had heavy financial responsibilities.

Some of the proposed changes involves having all employees graded into 11 levels.

The highest in the rank will be Grade One with management level will be clustered from one to six while junior staff will be from level seven to 11.

Out of the evaluation, five job grades will be struck out as the judiciary currently has 16 job grades.

Maraga promised that no staff would be laid off in the forthcoming job changes.

“I am aware of the challenges in terms of implementation and the anxieties that such a change can bring. While the recommendations in the organisational review report will result in substantial changes in the institutional arrangements and structures in the Judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission, the changes have incorporated the entire current workforce of the Judiciary,” the Chief Justice mentioned.

A judge will have three staff assigned to him or her- a court assistant, a law clerk or legal researcher and a personal secretary.

 

Every magistrate will have a court assistant and will share a legal researcher and transcriber with other magistrates within a court station.

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