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The rivalry  between the Executive and Judiciary has once again resurfaced after Chief Justice David Maraga claimed that budget cuts are to blame for increased  backlog of cases.

Maraga regretted that the Judiciary, despite it being an arm of the Executive has continued  to be underfunded.

He has since called on the National Assembly to intervene and have the matter resolved.

“Judiciary plays a critical role in the society, and therefore it should be reasonably funded within the budget.

It is the responsibility of the Parliament Budget Committee to adequately allocate funds to institutions as per their role,” he said.

Maraga was speaking yesterday during the launch of Judiciary Strategic Plan 2019-23 and Performance Management and Measurement Understanding Evaluation Report 2018-19.

Great difficulties 

In the 2020/21 Financial Year, the Judiciary was allocated Sh18.1 billion marking a marginal decline from Sh18.8 billion allocated under the 2019/20 budget.

The reduction in the allocation, according to Maraga, has created great difficulties in an institution that is already hard-pressed to cope with a rising case load and understaffed superior courts.

Maraga said Kenyans continue to lodge cases where  between  2018 and 2019, a total of 48,321 cases were filed from 34,180 cases in 2017-2018, indicating a 40 per cent increase.

“This is without corresponding with finances and human resources, hence Kenyans should continue to talk about cases backlog,” said Maraga.

Previously, Maraga faulted the President over the refusal to appoint 41 judges, which he said had created a serious shortage of judges in various courts, in particular the Environment and Land Court.

“For instance, Thika and Ruiru towns in Kiambu  deserve a fully fledged High Court due to the nature of the economic activity, there are lots of cases, however, financial constraints are hampering our efforts,” he said.

Maraga also said the current Supreme Court building is in tatters and needs a facelift.

He said the ICT programme that the Judiciary has rolled  out, especially due to the Covid-19, will collapse if budget allocation will not be increased.

Helps address 

During the ceremony, National Assembly Budget Chair Kanini Kega and Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC)chair Muturi Kigano promised to mediate and help address the Executive and Judiciary wars that have resulted into budget cuts and Uhuru’s failure to appoint judges. 

Kega told Maraga that as a new chairman, he would work with the Judiciary to ensure that its budget is enhanced.

He said his committee would also try to increase the budget in the coming Supplementary Budget.

He opined that there should be dialogue and communication between JLAC, Budget Committee and Judiciary before budget reading.  

“Increased budget allocation would help in completing courts among other infrastructure to improve justice delivery,” he said.

On his part, Kigano said the Judiciary and Executive wars are unfortunate and there was a need for all stakeholders to reason together for the good of the nation and justice system.

At the same time, Maraga called upon Parliament to enact Tribunal Act to streamline their operations.

“Tribunal as currently constituted are having teething problems resulting in a serious backlog, currently, there are over 27,000 cases backlog in various tribunals,” said Maraga.

During the ceremony, various judges and magistrates were awarded for their exemplary performance.

Justice Mumbi Ngugi of Milimani Law Courts was awarded the best in Anti- Corruption cases, Chief Magistrate Emily Ominde of Makadara Children’s Court was recognised for expeditious hearing and rulings of children’s cases.

Winners in various categories were awarded a certificate and cash prize of Sh 150,000.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu revealed the Judiciary has lost one of them to Covid-19 urging care and adherence to Ministry of Health guidelines.