171 Kenyans will no longer be able to secure employment with the Judiciary after it announced the cancellation of a previous job advertisement due to economic constraints.
In a notice to the public dated March 4, Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Secretary Winfred Mokaya revealed that the Judiciary lacked the financial capacity to employ the candidates, hence the decision to withdraw the opportunity.
"This is to notify the general public and the applicants that, owing to the fiscal constraints affecting the country, the JSC has cancelled the advertisement for the following positions," the notice read in part.
The Judiciary had planned to recruit 60 legal researchers and had opened applications for 111 internship opportunities across different fields.
"The commission regrets any inconvenience caused," the notice continued.
Among the internship opportunities were 45 undergraduate and diploma internships in the Office of Administration (Secretarial Services), 24 positions in the graduate internship for Information, Communications and Technology, and 10 positions for graduate interns in Supply Chain Management, among others.
Applicants who had already applied, as well as other Kenyans with queries about the cancellation, have been advised to contact the JSC via email or phone or visit their offices at the CBK Pension Towers, 13th floor, along Harambee Avenue.
The fiscal constraints in the Judiciary come barely six months after Chief Justice Martha Koome decried that the JSC had suffered a 50 per cent budget cut in the last three years.
In November, CJ Koome revealed that the commission's services had been severely impaired over the years due to consistent budget cuts and that it was doing its best to cope with limited resources.
"The Judiciary continues to face funding challenges owing to historic underfunding in the justice sector," the CJ said during the launch of the State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice Report 2023/24 at the Milimani Law Courts.
In the 2023/2024 financial year, the Judiciary received Ksh22.42 billion, significantly below the required budget of Ksh43.17 billion.
This funding gap has restricted the Judiciary's ability to expand infrastructure, enhance security, and support the well-being of judicial personnel.
