Treasury restores Judiciary budget after Maraga outburst

It has now emerged that the Ksh. 31billion budget for the Judiciary will be restored days after CJ David Maraga lashed out over lack of funds.

Also Read: Frustrated Maraga blasts Executive over alleged mistreatment, disrespect

In a letter to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Chief Registrar Anne Amadi indicated that the implementation of all approved activities would proceed as planned.

“We wish to confirm that the National Treasury has restored the Judiciary Recurrent and Development budget FY 2019/2020,” the memo reads.

This comes just days after LSK, through its president Allen Gichuhi, sued the National Treasury complaining that the move not only interferes with the independence of the Judiciary but also the right of the public to access services rendered.

The budget cut saw a drastic reduction of Ksh.1.49 billion from the recurrent expenditure and Ksh.1.4 billion from the development expenditure.

The Chief Justice raised the red flag immediately the Treasury announced the budget cut, warning that it would comprise the work of the courts.

Several courts sitting had already been suspended and a number of courts such as the Court of Appeal in Nyeri closed indefinitely in what legal experts have warned could worsen the already overwhelming backlog of cases.

In a belt-tightening move, the Judiciary also suspended all mobile court sessions and service weeks planned for the period of October to December 2019.

All retreats and workshops outside the work station, unless there is donor funding or for statutory requirements, and unless for highly specialised course were also suspended.

In an unprecedented move, Maraga had on Monday cited budgetary cuts and several incidences to highlight what he described as the contemptuous treatment of the Judiciary.