Winfridah Mokaya vows to support Judiciary as new Chief Registrar

During her swearing-in at the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Mokaya, who has previously served as the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) registrar and a magistrate for over a decade said her experience gives her a unique understanding of the operations of the Judiciary.  

“I assume this office cognizant of my 14 years in the magistracy that gives me a strategic view, practical socialization and a deep understanding of the working environment. I fully identify myself with the critical role Judges and Magistrates play day-in-day-out in the execution of the Judiciary’s mandate,” said the Chief Judiciary Registrar.

“With this diverse background, I am confident that my office will ably support and facilitate the judiciary leadership, judges, judicial officers and staff in discharging their mandate.”

Mokaya takes over her current role from Anne Amadi, who retired in January after a 10-year stint.

She said her priorities will be cascading the Sustaining Judiciary Transformation Blueprint throughout the Judiciary, pushing for law reform to address the emerging gaps in the administration of the Judiciary Fund.

She also vowed to engage with stakeholders on the funding of access to justice as a public good which she termed as important as security, requiring full funding by the government.

“In absolute and comparative terms, the 100% funding the Judiciary is seeking is reasonable. In this regard, we need to make a better case for our budget allocation by shifting the case away from aggregate percentages to more modern and innovative methods that first consider unit costs such as cost per Judge or cost per case and then elevate the budget case to formal and universal justice needs in line with the STAJ vision,” Mokaya said.

The new Judiciary registrar also pledged to enhance resource and assets management, streamline the Judiciary’s policy to the results cycle and re-imagine the institutional administrative model.

“My office will embrace a clear deliberate and robust open-door policy in engaging with our internal and external stakeholders including members of our Judiciary family such as Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association, Kenya Judges Welfare Association, Kenya Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges, and Kenya Judiciary Staff Association,” added Mokaya.

Mokaya has over 27 years of experience in the legal profession and was picked out of the seven candidates the JSC interviewed for the post.

The chief registrar of the Judiciary is tasked with preparing estimates of expenditure, administering the Judiciary Fund, overseeing operations and administration of Human Resources in the judicial service and supervising support services in the Judiciary such as planning, development, and organization of staff.

The registrar is also Secretary to the JSC and the National Council for Administration of Justice.