This archive report was first published on 11 June 2020.
Kenya's Judiciary has failed to deliver on its promise to clear the high case backlog in courts, with the backlog standing at 341,056 cases as of the end of the last financial year.
Chief Justice David Maraga, who assumed office in October 2016, had vowed to clear the backlog by the end of his tenure in December 2020, but his pledge has proved to be a pipe dream.
Maraga's predecessor, Willy Mutunga, had inherited an institution with a backlog of over a million pending cases, some dating back over 30 years.
Despite the efforts of the Judicial Service Commission to appoint new judges, the backlog has continued to worsen, with the earliest hearing date for a case filed at the Environment and Land Court at Milimani, Nairobi, now set for 2022.
Maraga has attempted to shift the blame for the backlog to President Uhuru Kenyatta, citing the delay in appointing 41 judges recommended by the Judicial Service Commission last year.
However, observers have pointed out that Maraga's failure to address the issue during his tenure as the head of the Judiciary and president of the Supreme Court is a major contributor to the backlog.
Furthermore, the Judiciary's own inefficiencies, including the laxity of judicial officers who report to work late and fail to deliver judgments and rulings in a timely manner, have also contributed to the backlog.
Maraga's announcement of a partial shutdown of courts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic was seen as an opportunity for some judges and magistrates to take a holiday while still drawing salaries from taxpayers.
Instead of using the time to write pending judgments and rulings, some judicial officers were caught up in the dragnet of those who violated the curfew and other measures to curb Covid-19 spread.
Maraga's failure to address the issue and his attempt to shift the blame to President Kenyatta have sparked public anger, with lawyers demanding an apology from the judges and magistrates association.
