Appeals Court suspends sittings outside Nairobi
In a move that sends a clear signal on the crisis at Kenya's corridors of justice, the judiciary has suspended Court of Appeal sittings outside Nairobi and the judges recalled owing to an acute shortage.
The recent demise of Kisumu’s Justice James Odek has further dealt a blow to the judiciary thus leading to the move.
Court of Appeal President William Ouko in a statement Friday said Appellate Court judges in Mombasa, Kisumu and Nyeri will now operate from Nairobi effective January 13.
He said court sessions in the affected areas will henceforth be held in circuits conducted once a month at each station.
"At the time of the decentralization there were 27 Judges; three each deployed in Malindi, Kisumu and Nyeri while the rest (18) remained in Nairobi, due to the heavy caseload in Nairobi. With passage time, this number (27) has gradually shrunk to 15 today following retirement of several Judges, appointment of others to (other) higher Government offices, and this week, the sudden death of Hon. Prof. Justice James Otieno Odek," he said in a statement.
However, out of the 15, only 12 actively serve in the Appellate Court as Justice Ouko is involved in administrative work as its President. Two others serve as the Appeals Court’s Representative to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and another as the Director of the Judiciary Training Institute (JTI).
He noted that the current situation had made decentralization of the Appellate Court untenable.
Consequently, service delivery from the key court countrywide will likely be affected owing to the recall even as the Executive delays appointment of new judges to the judiciary.
The judiciary, through Chief Justice David Maraga, has lately protested budgetary cuts imposed as a cost cutting measure amid targeted savings meant to support the Jubilee government’s big four agenda.
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