Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court Martha Koome has addressed what has been summed up as an infrastructure challenge the judiciary is facing with the newly built Justice Tower in Mombasa County.
Speaking during the 2023 High Court Leaders Conference held at Pride in Flamingo, Shanzu, Ms. Koome said that it is important to have infrastructure and buildings that can support efficient delivery of justice to the people.
The conference is reflecting on the performance of the High Court and the collective commitment to realise the goals that underpin the institutional vision of Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ).
She disclosed that the reason why the Sh445 million Justice Tower in Mombasa, which was built with the support of the World Bank but has not been officially launched was because the building was found to have structural defects.
The four-storey building stands magnificently on a 3.6-acre parcel adjacent to the court premises, which were built in 1984.
The Justice Tower has eight courtrooms and four mediation rooms, 11 chambers, spacious registries, and separate cells for males, females, and juveniles.
The High Court will occupy the fourth floor of the building, whereas the third floor will be set aside for the Environment and Land Court.
The first floor will host support offices including ICT, procurement, probation rooms, a banking hall, and an exhibit room, among others, and the ground floor will be the main registry and host the front offices, counters, and the public area.
The new court building will also have offices for the prosecution counsel, a witness protection room, a spacious lactation room for staff and litigants that can accommodate up to 30 mothers, a children’s area, and ramps for the physically challenged.
“A team from the Judicial Service Commission Audit Committee visited the building and filed a report, and we have had to engage another contractor who has taken over the building for rectification because there were major structural defects identified in the report,” Koome said.
“Apparently that building was assessed by the national housing ministry officials and a report was written, but they did not condemn it, but the outcry from the falling ceiling and falling parts is what has forced the judiciary to raise the concerns,” she added.
Koome assured that legal action will be taken against the contactor because they did not deliver the value of the money paid.
She also stated that the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary is now giving priority to completing other buildings across the country that will be used by the Judiciary.
Following up on the launch of the e-filing in Mombasa County last month, Koome said that the response and uptake have been overwhelming, hence the program will be rolled out starting with Siaya, Kisumu, and Homa-Bay Counties next week.
This will be followed by Turkana, Samburu, Kiambu, Wajir, and Mandera in July and August.
“By February 2024, as per our work plan, e-filing will be operational in all our courts countrywide,” Koome assured.
The Chief Justice acknowledged the Courts’ unwavering commitment to achieving a Case Clearance Rate (CCR) of 123% by the end of the third quarter of the financial year 2022–23.
However, she urged the conference to brainstorm strategies that will target the swift resolution of the 84,082 cases that were pending by the end of the same third quarter of the financial year 2022-2023, of which 19802 cases have been pending for over 3 years.
By Fatma Said
