This archive report was first published on 30 November 2019.
On November 30, 2019, the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report recommended the consolidation of judicial tribunals to save taxpayer's money. The report proposed the establishment of a National Appeals Tribunal to handle all matters arising from decisions made by the few tribunals that will remain in operation.
The BBI task force, led by Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji, argued that tribunals related to regulators defeat the essence of impartial adjudication of disputes. The report noted that virtually every statute setting up a regulatory authority also sets up an appeal tribunal to resolve disputes arising from the regulator's exercise of its statutory authority.
According to the report, the proposed National Administrative Appeals Tribunal will have separate thematic appeals tribunals, such as power and energy, sports and environment. To achieve this, the team recommends harmonizing the tribunals' mandates to have fewer and better implemented regulations, with a premium against corruption in this process.
The report also recommended that individual public officers who disobey court orders should face the law, adding that this would change the way the country implements its legislation and policies. The report noted that it is a common phenomenon in Kenya for leaders and citizens to disrespect the law, particularly among public officers who ignore the law and subordinate it to their personal interests.
