Supreme Court, Best Performing Court in 2021/2022

Nairobi, Saturday July 1, 2023

KNA by Ali Sheikh Mohamed

The Supreme Court has emerged the best performing court with 154 percent case clearance and 22 percent of case backlog reduction in the delivery of justice.

The Court of Appeal emerged second best performing court with 100% cases clearance and 10% backlog reductions whereas the Kisii High court emerged third with a 42 percent clearance of all criminal cases within 360 days from the time they were filed.

Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya Justice Martha Koome said that the performance report of this year provides insights on the best practices from the best performing courts and units.

Speaking during the Launch of Performance Management and Measurable Understanding (PMMU) report 2021/2022 Koome said that the results are quite encouraging and are a good indication that the different interventions being implemented are leading to improvements in service delivery.

“The efforts and commitments of the judges, judicial officers and staff is quite commendable as the Judiciary focuses on dealing with perennial challenges of case backlog which has persisted over the years as well as keeping pace with disposing of new cases filed which are increasing every year,” the CJ remarked.

She said that by studying and learning from the best performing courts and implementing units, other courts and units across the country can replicate their strategies and processes.

“Judiciary, has taken deliberate steps to enhance delivery of justice to Kenyans which include opening up of more courts to enhance access to justice, increased use of ICT encompassing case tracking, e-filing and virtual courts to enhance efficiency.

Other measures are improving Judiciary’s capacity by recruitment of more Judges, Judicial Officers and other Staff, continued implementation of performance management to ensure internal efficiencies, streamlining court processes and systems to reduce backlog of cases as well as ensured prompt disposal of current cases,” said Koome.

Koome announced that the Judiciary has established specialized courts such as the Sexual and Gender-based courts to deal with sexual abuse and violence cases, and established 13 small claims courts in various parts of the country.

She added that PMMU evaluations are more than a routine exercise as they represent the Judiciary’s commitment to self-assessment, transparency, and most importantly, accountability to the public.

She highlighted that one of the critical functions of the PMMU evaluations is informing data-driven interventions which acts as the compass guiding towards more efficient, equitable, and user centric approaches in the judicial system.

“Data-driven interventions help us understand as courts where we are excelling, where we are faltering, and most importantly, where we can innovate for better outcomes,” said Koome.

Speaking at the event the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said that he was passionate about performance management because it enhances public service delivery.

“Performance management is a most effective tool that enhances accountability in use of resources. Additionally, it is instrumental in identifying, collecting and collating critical performance information for public agencies to support evidence-based decision-making while holding to account public officers for their actions,” Mudavadi said in a speech read on his behalf by Principal Secretary (PS) For Parliamentary Affairs, Aurelia Rono

He said that the report provides critical information and feedback necessary to serve as catalyst in ensuring provision of high-quality judicial services and it will spur implementation of transformative initiatives that will improve access to and delivery of justice in Kenya.

“It is a measure upon which service delivery mechanisms will be improved, while refocusing judicial service on timely delivery of its projects and programmes,” the prime CS added.

Mudavadi announced that performance management should also re-focus judicial service on good governance and efficient administration of justice as the bastion for sustained socio-economic development as enshrined in our Constitution.

“I am certain performance management will catalyze the streamlining of internal processes and systems; improving efficiency and effectiveness of conducting timely trials, enhancing productivity and promoting quality of services in our Courts of Justice,” Mudavadi stressed.

Courtesy ; K. N. A