This archive report was first published on 7 November 2019.
On November 7, 2019, the National Treasury restored the Judiciary's recurrent and development budget for the 2019/2020 financial year, after Chief Justice David Maraga publicly criticized the Executive for slashing the Judiciary's budget.
According to an internal memo by Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi, the Treasury had initially cut the Judiciary's budget by Sh3 billion, citing revenue deficits and the need to raise funds for President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big Four agenda.
The Judiciary had requested Sh31.2 billion, but Parliament allocated it Sh14.5 billion, which the Treasury then cut to Sh11.5 billion.
Chief Justice Maraga had warned Kenyans to expect delays in case handling and a lack of basic services unless the Treasury rescinded its decision to cut the Judiciary's budget.
“Judges will not have money to fuel their vehicles, we will not have mobile courts, we will not have the Court of Appeal circuits, we will not be able to pay for wi-fi for e-filing and e-payments and plans to automate the anti-corruption courts have fallen by the wayside,” he said in a televised address.
Following the Treasury's decision to restore the Judiciary's budget, Chief Registrar Amadi stated that implementation of all approved activities should proceed as planned.
“We are pleased to inform you that the Judiciary’s Recurrent and Development budget for financial year 2019/20 has been restored and the budget for the half-year been uploaded in IFMIS as approved by the National Assembly. Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE’s) for the court stations and Tribunals are being processed and will be issued in the shortest time possible,” she said.
