Governors want former municipal courts to share revenue with counties

Counties have boycotted former municipal courts, leaving magistrates attached to them idle.

Governors are unhappy with a directive by the Chief Justice barring the courts from sharing revenue with them.

Before devolution, the courts shared proceeds from fines imposed on by-law offenders with municipalities.

Now, the money goes to the Judiciary.

Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and his Kisumu counterpart Jack Ranguma have raised the issue with the Judicial Service Commission.

“I met a commission team under Dr Smokin Wanjala and we said since we enforce payment of rates, permits and licence fees, there is no justification for fines to be deposited in the consolidated account,” said Mr Oparanya Wednesday.

“The county governments enforce the by-laws and should get a share,” said Mr Oparanya, who chairs the governors’ finance committee.

“The fact that we arrest offenders but the money goes elsewhere has affected our finances as we incur costs.

“Furthermore, it takes longer for cases to be dispensed with compared to the days when municipalities were in charge,” Mr Oparanya said.

COURTS IDLE

Kisumu Municipal Court Chief Magistrate Jessy Nyaga said activity at the once busy courts had dropped sharply.

“We wonder where cases involving offenders of county by-laws are resolved.

“The numbers started dropping in July after we received a memo directing us not to share the revenue with the county governments,” he said.

Members of the JSC who met Mr Ranguma on Tuesday were told that only five cases have been heard at the Kisumu Municipal Court since July.

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga recalled judicial staff from municipal courts in November 2014.

Pending cases were reassigned to magistrates’ courts.

AMEND ACT

JSC Commissioner Emily Ominde asked the Council of Governors to consider an amendment of the County Government Act, 2012 to deal with the standoff.

She spoke when she led a delegation of the JSC team to Kisumu

“We are ready to work with the Council of Governors to resolve this matter of sharing of revenue from the municipal courts,” Ms Ominde said.

Ms Ominde asked the legal affairs committee of the Council of Governors to work with them towards pursuing the required amendment.

“There should not be a situation where the law impedes justices as well as revenue flows for the two governments.

“We welcome the proposal to amend the law,” she said.

Some of the said courts are housed by the county governments by virtue of the assets having been transferred from the defunct county councils – a situation that makes them indispensable landlords.