Uhuru Kenyatta asks Judiciary to review its relations with other govt arms

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday called on the Judiciary to review its relations with other arms of government, saying some of the judicial decisions affected government operations.

While maintaining that the Executive had no intention of muzzling judicial independence, President Kenyatta particularly faulted the issuing of injunctive orders, which he said had become too common.

He said such orders must stop because they created roadblocks and an impression that the three arms of government were in conflict and competing with each other.

“The issuance of injunctive interim orders especially ex parte has done much to undermine goodwill and harmony between the three arms of government in the country and we must end this,” he said.

“There are concerns that the Executive and the legislature have raised, which the Judiciary must address so that justice can be available for all,” he added.

The President spoke when he opened the Annual East African Magistrates and Judges Association Conference at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Nairobi.

More than 300 judges and magistrates from Africa and the Commonwealth are attending the week-long meeting at the Nairobi hotel.

‘JUSTICE NOT A PRESERVE OF JUDICIARY’

President Kenyatta said justice was not a preserve of the Judiciary but a collective responsibility that would make the government institutions work as partners.

Mr Kenyatta said the government would continue to support the Judiciary, citing the increase in funding.

He said Kenyans expected a corresponding increase in efficiency that would ensure speedy conclusion of cases.

He added that the steady integration in the region called for joint efforts in combating major international crimes such as poaching, terrorism and narcotics and human trafficking.

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said the Judiciary had an obligation to accelerate and deepen the transformation process in order to improve on the quality of service delivery.

He said the Judiciary would continue to do its part as mandated by the Constitution but remain alive to the fact that for there to be success in the administration of justice, there has to be robust independence of the Judiciary.

Equally, the CJ said there has to be a constructive inter-dependence with other arms of government.

“The search for a right balance between the three arms of government is also taking place within the context of new challenges such as security and terrorism”

“East African countries need to invest more money in the development of their judiciaries as a rule of law imperative. This is also because the speed of justice is important not just in helping to uphold peoples’ rights but also in reducing the costs of business,” he said.

SECURITY CONCERNS ACROSS BORDERS

He said the conference would re-examine the global dilemma in addressing security concerns that cut across borders, adding that they were optimistic in receiving outcomes that would address critical areas such as bond, bail, and sentencing policy.

Dr Mutunga said that although Kenya had increased its support to the Judiciary, all judiciaries in the region had a history of financial neglect that undermines their capacity to deliver justice quickly.

“According to a study just finalised by our Performance Directorate in 2012/2013, Kenyans filed about 54,000 cases in the High Court alone. The Judiciary has 90 High Court judges, which means that, on average, each judge has 600 cases from one year alone,” he said.