Chief Justice Martha Koome yesterday warned judges against what she termed as persistent problem of delayed determination of suits amid a biting backlog of cases tormenting the delivery of justice in the country.

Koome said the delay in delivering judgments has seen some cases drag for more than three years against what the statute prescribes.

“We are facing challenges on delay of delivery of judgements, where in some cases the delay is for a period exceeding three years. Statute prescribes the period to be taken to prepare decisions. I see no reason why judges are not complying or should not comply with the decisions, “she said.

“A second and relatively new delay is that of delay in availing pronounced decisions. The reality is that there are litigants in our corridors searching for decisions delivered months earlier. This situation cannot continue, as leaders we have to manage cases to avoid building up huge backlogs.

Speaking during the official opening of the High Court Leaders Conference in Mombasa, Koome said the situation has caused case backlogs that have continued to hurt delivery of justice to the public. This she said has also been attributed by an insufficient number of judges in the country.

Retirement packages

The country, she said, has 47 high court stations and divisions, with 79 judges, serving 41 counties. Koome emphasised on adding more than 20 new judges to the judiciary.

She further pointed out that currently the high court is struggling with 84,082 pending cases in the high court of which 19,802 have been pending for over three years.

At the same time Koome said judges deserve decent retirement packages after serving the public tirelessly. She now wants judges to be treated the same as Military generals on matters of pension and retirement benefits.

On corruption, the Chief Justice regretted that some judicial officers abet corruption thus tarnishing the integrity of the Judiciary.