Chief Justice David Maraga had a reason to smile after Members of Parliament (MPs) approved President Uhuru Kenyatta's VAT proposal in Parliament on Thursday.
The Judiciary is among the beneficiaries of the approval as a further Ksh1.5 Billion was added to their 2018/2019 budget.
The CJ had protested the initial cuts made on the Judiciary's budget from the requested Ksh31.2 Billion to Ksh17.3 Billion.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich conveyed that the amount had been given by the World Bank and it was prudent to return it to the Judiciary's account.
"The Judiciary Ksh1.5 billion is a World Bank fund and could be reinstated in the budget and could be introduced due to exceptional circumstances," Rotich explained.
CJ Maraga had, however, requested an addition of Ksh3.45 Billion instead of the Ksh1.5 Billion that was awarded to the courts.
In July, Maraga had argued that the courts would be crippled by the low budget. He explained that the Judiciary is understaffed.
"There are only 150 judges, 450 magistrates, 50 kadhis against a population of 40 million.
"This cannot be compared to countries such as such as Canada that have a similar population but over 3,000 magistrates and judges," the CJ illustrated.
He further added that the budget deficit would stall the progress of mobile courts that have been charged with the responsibility of clearing the backlog of cases.
