This archive report was first published on 27 July 2019.
Published on July 27, 2019
As part of efforts to clear the backlog of cases in the country, 15 judges have been dispatched to Kisumu Law Courts to start hearing over 75 pending criminal cases that have dragged since 2014.
The move comes after 11 more Court of Appeal judges were selected to clear a backlog of cases across the country.
Four benches comprising of three judges each are expected to report to Kisumu from Monday, where they will sit for a week, to clear cases that have dragged in the courts in the last three years.
The team will be led by the President of the Court of Appeal Justice William Ouko.
"The president of the court of appeal will be here for a week and will also visit the prisons around to get to hear from the inmates who have appeals," said Ms Joane Wambilyanga, Kisumu Court of Appeal Deputy Registrar.
Justice Ouko has indicated that upon the judges' return to Nairobi, they will deal with appeals in the courts filed between 2017 and 2019.
He aims to clear or reduce the backlog of the pending 1,500 appeals and applications made in Kisumu within the next two years.
Chief Justice David Maraga has directed judges and magistrates to clear all cases that have been pending in courts for the last five years by the end of this year.
He said the judiciary had adopted a system of clearing a backlog of cases that have been in court for long.
Additionally, 56 new courts are under construction across the country, 31 of them being funded by the government and the rest by the World Bank.
