Koome decries budget challenges for election dispute preparedness

Chief Justice Martha Koome has decried budget challenges as the Judiciary prepares to handle election disputes that may emerge following the August 9 polls.

Koome noted that lack of funds has hindered training on technical aspects of the Election Dispute Resolution (EDR) issues, such as preparations, scrutiny, recount and standard of proof in election petitions.

  “Ninety percent of the Judiciary’s EDR training budget is outsourced from development partners. We have had to postpone some training sessions for magistrates due to budgetary constraints,” said Koome.

“There is   need to avail resources to train members, equip offices, develop reference material, the registry, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Manuals, infrastructure and human resource needs to support the electoral dispute resolution process,” she said.

The CJ said the Judiciary expects a rise in the number of election petitions owing to factors such as leadership transition in almost half of the counties as second term governors exit the scene.

She noted that due to the anticipated increase, the Judiciary has put in place comprehensive programmes towards election preparedness, that include prioritised training for judges and judicial officers who handle electoral disputes.

The Judiciary in 2013 resolved 189 petitions with the number doubled to 388 petitions in 2017.

Koome was addressing various stakeholders in an engagement session with the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi alongside MPs from the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), Budget and Appropriations committee and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at a Mombasa hotel.

On his part, Muturi  said JLAC has a duty to oversee the day to day operations and programmes of the Judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission through budget scrutiny and inquiries.

Muturi said that the committees would look into the approval of budget allocation for the  Judiciary ahead of this year’s elections.