CJ Maraga says Judiciary will help decongest prisons

Chief Justice David Maraga Friday said the Judiciary will be lenient while sentencing offenders to decongest prisons in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking in Kangema during the opening of a new court, Mr Maraga said the Judiciary is working to reduce case backlog.

He asked for “fair allocation of funds to increase number of judicial officers as well as expand infrastructure”.

He urged police officers to be ‘sensibly’ lenient on cases they intend to prosecute, calling for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic has brought challenges in admitting new inmates.

"We have minor cases which essentially are not supposed to take more than six months to be concluded but they go up to three years, these new court will handle such cases," he said.

The CJ noted that cases of drug abuse and defilement are on the rise.

The CJ said so far, succession cases continue to be very emotive and volatile hence there is need to come up with a specific way of resolving them.

“We should focus more on laying down structures of offloading succession cases to arbitration. We should invest more in mediators and consensus to help decongest the Judiciary,” he said.

Mr Maraga also said there are plans to establish more court in various parts of the country which will be handling minor cases.

He said many cases are pending in courts when they should have been heard and decided in a short time.

"We have cases which essentially are not supposed to take more than six months to be concluded, but they go up to three years. The new court stations will handle such cases" he said.

Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria said the county government will aid in the arbitration process by providing the necessary logistics.

He said they will have a list of all succession cases and find a way to have them concluded in the shortest time possible.

"If a family cannot transfer land ownership because of a standoff that is also a form of injustice" he said.

The governor also said the county has given out land for the construction of a modern court.

 Kangema MP Muturi Kigano, who is also the chair of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee in Parliament said he will be responsive to the needs raised by the Judiciary.