Report: More women now accessing courts

One in every three people who seek justice in the superior courts in the country is a woman.

The State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice report released by Chief Justice Martha Koome last Friday reveals that women comprised a third of all individual court users in superior courts as plaintiffs or defendants in 2022/2023 annual report.

Ms Koome also released the judiciary’s 10-year plan dubbed “Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ)”, noting that Kenyans are entering a new era “where justice will be a right for all rather than a privilege for a chosen few”.

The report noted that the proportion of women seeking justice was higher in the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) at 49 per cent and Environment and Land Court (ELC) at 47 per cent.

The report further revealed that, at the High Court, 12 per cent of the accused persons were women while women constituted 11 per cent and 35 per cent of all murder and anti-corruption cases respectively.

“In the magistracy, 16 per cent of the accused in criminal cases were female. Females were the majority of plaintiffs in civil matters (51 per cent),” the report said.

Men were the majority in traffic offenses at 97 per cent, robbery (96 per cent), and anti-corruption cases (79 per cent).

At the Kadhis courts, 57 per cent of plaintiffs were male. Females, however constituted the majority of divorce and matrimonial causes applicants at 92 per cent and 56 per cent respectively.

The report noted that gender statistics would help in understanding the dynamics and promoting gender equality as they provide vital information, including indicators and benchmarks for measuring progress and analysing underlying factors.

During the year under review, 423,394 new cases were filed and 419,262 of them resolved, achieving a 99 per cent case clearance rate, a five per cent improvement from the previous year.

Additionally, the judiciary reduced its case backlog (cases pending for over a year) by 18 per cent, from 336,119 to 272,678.

To ensure that all citizens have access to courts across the country, Ms Koome said, the STAJ initiative aims to provide justice that is accessible, efficient, expeditious, and cost-effective.

Among the initiatives implemented is the Mahakama Popote programme, which seeks to maximise available resources while leveraging technology.

The initiative, which was launched in October 2022, sees judicial officers in less busy stations hearing cases from courts with a higher caseload.

The initiative mitigates the unequal distribution of work among judicial officers and staff.

During the review period, 6,469 cases were referred for Mahakama Popote, and 3,313 cases were heard and determined through this initiative.

And, to enhance access to justice for marginalised people, the judiciary continued to administer the pro bono scheme through the allocation of funds for needy clients to access legal services.

The report further reveals that the judiciary facilitated the payment of Sh39.2 million for lawyers handling pro bono services to 44 magistrates’ court stations across the country, and 1,800 cases were determined.

At the High Court, the judiciary spent Sh31.4 million to pay pro bono lawyers, and 1,593 cases were heard and determined.

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