Chief Justice David Maraga seems to have bowed to pressure about the way the Judiciary was handling corruption cases.
Maraga on Friday convened a meeting with Court of Appeal President William Ouko and all principal and presiding judges.
Top on the list of topics the CJ wanted to address at the Milimani Ceremonial Hall meeting was the delay in prosecuting graft which has led to constant blame games between the courts and the DPP.
The Judiciary leaders noted that between July 2017, and December 2018, a total of 91 graft cases were determined and 46 convictions made.
"As of today, there are 94 corruption cases. The Judiciary leaders recommended measures to conclude the cases in the most expeditious manner," Ouko told journalists.
10 more magistrates were added to the Anti-Corruption Court with a specific mandate to finalise all the pending cases. The CJ also mandated all the magistrates in that court to sit beyond working hours to fast-track the cases.
The leaders discussed and recommended active case management techniques and all officials would undergo training for the same.
During the National Anti Corruption Conference that ended on January 25, President Uhuru Kenyatta called upon the Judiciary to step up the anti-graft war.
He also decried what he termed as lenient bail terms given to corruption suspects.
In a rebuttal, Maraga stated that the only way Kenya would succeed in trying the suspects was to prepare and present formidable cases.
“The war against corruption is not going to be won by blame games. The war will be won by the application of the law. If we are given half-baked cases we will dismiss them firmly,” Justice Maraga responded.
He also accused the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of framing cases poorly and failing to provide witness statements on time, denying those accused the ability to defend themselves.
“The Constitution of Kenya guarantees the accused the right to be heard and (to) bail,” Maraga told delegates.
