Judiciary tells off Ombudsman over continued attacks

The Judiciary now wants attack on judges stopped. In response to a report by the Ombudsman that described the Judiciary as corrupt and inept, the Judiciary says the attacks threaten to water down the public trust and affect the dispensation of justice.

This comes as the Judiciary has lately found itself on the receiving end, including from petitions to remove judges of the Supreme Court from office.

Newly-appointed Judiciary Spokesperson Paul Ndemo said: “Insults directed at certain judges and judicial officers will adversely affect the authority of the courts and the entire administration of justice.”

A report released by the office of the Ombudsman indicated that a total of 700 complaints have been lodged against judicial officers, with 398 cases pending while 302 cases have been resolved.

In addition, there are a total of 449 delayed cases, 91 of them attributed to inefficiency.

Commission on Administrative Justice Chairman Charles Dulo, speaking while releasing the report, said: “There is a complaint against a judge who refused to issue a judgement, but instead issued a counter claim involving wealth worth Ksh.56 million.”

But the Judiciary says it has made strides in ensuring cases are resolved on time despite workforce challenges occasioned by poor funding.

For instance, the Judiciary says one judge handles 710 cases per year while one judicial officer handles 1,600 cases per year.

“We are not oblivious of the many systemic, physical and economic barriers that impede delivery of justice such as corruption, distance to court, shortage of resources, growing number of filed cases compared the number of judges and magistrates,” added Ndemo.