LSK wants CJ Koome to deal with corruption in the Judiciary
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The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) wants Chief Justice Martha Koome to deal with corruption in the Judiciary so as to instil integrity in its officers.
LSK Coast branch chairperson Mathew Nyabena said that corruption has a direct impact on access to justice.
“We appreciate that the Judiciary continues to make decisions that indicate that it is treating corruption cases in court seriously,” he said in Mombasa.
“However, there is much concern that it is more likely that a chicken thief will be imprisoned without the option of a fine whilst a corruption suspect will walk away with an option of a fine.”
Mr Nyabena said justice stakeholders are duty-bound to bring down cartels.
“Justice cannot be for the highest bidder. We owe it to God and man to fight this vice. We must deal with those involved both in the bar and the bench,” he said.
Mr Nyabena said the LSK will use everything at its disposal to clean up the justice system.
“The Judiciary needs to operate with transparency to ensure that (its) objectives are observed,” he said.
The call comes as some judicial officers face removal from office due to integrity issues.
The LSK also wants the Judiciary to deal with increasing cases of missing files and court documents.
Mr Nyabena said that a document would be missing in the court file and yet it had been submitted or a file would appear in the case list but is missing in court.
“We propose that every lost file should have a report to ensure responsibility of the person who is in charge of that file and defeat the cartels that interfere with the justice system,” the advocate said.
LSK also wants the Judiciary to increase the number of judicial officers and staff ahead of the General Election in anticipation of numerous election petitions.
Lawyers have also linked delays or challenges in retrieving files in the registry to a shortage of staff.
The lobby group wants the Judiciary to also create a court calendar so as to limit adjournments of cases that lead to backlogs.
For instance, Mr Nyabena noted, sometimes parties are given dates in court only for them to receive notices that the judicial officer is away on official duties
“It is unfair for parties to take dates, at times one year away, only to appear in court and be told that suddenly the judicial officer has travelled for a seminar,” he said.
The lawyers’ umbrella body also noted that though e-filing and e-services have been embraced by the bar, when the digital platform fails, there should be an alternative system in urgent cases.
“We propose a hybrid system (so that) in case the virtual system is not working a case can proceed physically,” he said.
Advocates also faulted virtual courts and links, noting that they are kept waiting in the lobby while their matters are proceeding.
They lament that some links direct advocates to the wrong courts.
