Supreme Court President Martha Koome on Monday, January 6, revealed plans to have petty offenders diverted from the criminal justice system.
Through a statement, Koome disclosed that this would result in establishing courts of petty offenders in urban centres to reduce congestion.
“We are keen on reversing this trend to divert petty offenders from the criminal justice system and to that end, we intend to establish courts of petty sessions in major urban areas to ease the congestion in the criminal justice sector and operationalise instant traffic fines and support family rehabilitation program,” She stated.
Koome further stated that the Judiciary planned to set up 100 small claims courts in the next five years across the country with the aim of promoting economic development through access to efficient commercial justice.
“To ensure access to efficient commercial justice that supports our country’s quest for economic development, we are keen on having 100 fully established Small Claims Courts in the country within the next 5 years,” she added.
Chief Justice Martha Koome who convened a roundtable meeting with development partners in Nairobi, stated the Judiciary was seeking to become a key anchor institution in building national stability.
According to Koome, the Judiciary also plans to establish desks in all Huduma Centers and e-filling support services as well as scaling up the automation of registry and court services.
The head of the judiciary arm of government, however, called for ICT Infrastructure Development support stating that some court stations are inadequately equipped with the necessary ICT equipment.
“We are also keen on ensuring that our ICT-based services are user-friendly,” she added.
The meeting was held to align priorities under the Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ) vision with strategic partner programmes.
She emphasized the key priorities under STAJ including ensuring justice for the poor, marginalised and vulnerable.
Additionally, Koome highlighted that the key priority areas include the promotion of alternative justice dispute resolution, expansion of infrastructure in arid and semi-arid regions, green justice, electoral justice and decongesting the criminal justice system.
