Finance Bill 2024: JSC suspends recruitment of 11 judges after Treasury order
Chief Justice Martha Koome who also serves as the chairperson of the JSC.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has suspended all pending recruitments, including the long-awaited interviews for 11 judges of the Court of Appeal after the National Treasury restricted expenditure to 15 per cent of the appropriated budget.
Chief Justice Martha Koome said in a statement that the Treasury's circular restricts expenditure to critical and essential services only.
“This directive has far-reaching consequences on the operations of the Judiciary and the JSC. In this regard, we are compelled to make major adjustments to planned programs and activities,” Justice Koome, who also serves as the chairperson of the JSC, said.
The Judiciary had been allocated Sh24 billion in the National Budget read by Finance CS Prof Njuguna Ndung'u on June 13, an increase from the Sh23.2 billion allocated in the 2023-24 financial year.
Last year's amount was an increase of about Sh4.3 billion from what the courts were allocated in the 2022-23 budget.
The courts have been asking for more money to fund their operations, but have always been allocated less than the amount they requested.
However, President William Ruto's government promised after taking office to increase the annual budget for the judiciary by Sh3 billion every year to fulfil its mandate.
Dr Ruto declined to assent to the Finance Bill, 2024 after protesters expressed displeasure over some of the taxes contained in the bill.
Continuing conversation
“Having reflected on the continuing conversation regarding the content of the Finance Bill 2024, and listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede, and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill,” Dr Ruto said in a televised address last week.
Interviews for the 11 positions of Court of Appeal judges were due to start on July 3.
The Court of Appeal has a total of 29 judges serving in only six stations across the country, which translates to nine benches at any given time.
The JSC revealed that the court had a total of 13,331 pending cases as of May 2024.
“To enhance access to justice and reduce the huge case backlog the JSC successfully pursued amendments to the Judicature Act, Cap 8 Laws of Kenya thereby increasing the maximum number of Judges in the Court of Appeal from 30 to 70,” said Justice Koome.
The CJ added that the tragic shooting of Makadara magistrate Monica Kivuti forced the judiciary to restructure and reallocate its budget to improve security.
Following the shooting on June 13, the JSC announced that court sessions would no longer be held in makeshift structures as Justice Koome pleaded for additional funds to build more courtrooms.
