No matter before court will be adjourned for whatever reason, Samson Ongeri, Oyugis Senior Principal Magistrate has warned.

Magistrate Ongeri has instead warned investigating officers to prepare adequately whenever a matter is coming up in court.

Kenyan courts are notorious for foot-dragging is delivery of justice. There are cases that have been pending for decades – up 40 years, especially land and administration of estate matters.

In a state- of-the-Judiciary report in November 15, last year, Chief Justice Martha Koome noted significant improvements in performance compared to previous years.

Ms Koome observed that a total of 516,121 cases were filed in the year ending June 30, 2024, with 509,664 resolved. Pending cases dropped by 2.16 per cent from 649,310 to 635,262.

“The complaint of Kenyans is that they come to court and their matters are delayed,” Mr Ongeri said. He pointed out that the non-adjournment policy will be adhered to so that when a matter is listed for hearing it should proceed as per the timelines for better administration of justice

The senior principal magistrate, who made the declaration during the court users committee (CUC) deliberations, said any matter before court should proceed, be withdrawn or dismissed but not adjourned except only under deserving circumstances that will be considered.

The CUC brings together stakeholders involved in the administration of justice to enhance public participation, address emerging challenges and improve access to justice.

Magistrate Ongeri, however, said that if parties to a matter before court are likely to agree outside the court, they should be given a chance, saying alternative justice system can help the court to clear case backlog.

“Oyugis law court has a registry for mediation, let’s make use of them,” he said.

On children issues the magistrate said no judge will take plea on a matter involving a child unaccompanied a children’s officer.

He said the first call for all children matters should be at the children’s office saying the law does not envisage children to be exposed to the criminal process as the outcome is deemed to be worse.

Four years ago, former registrar of the High Court Ann Amadi announced measures to speed up dispute resolution to achieve speedier service delivery. To date, the measures announced remain of paper, with snail-paced service deliver.

Ms Amadi, now retired, announced that as part of transformation process for speedier and more efficient service delivery, “Kenya’s judiciary has put in place measures to effectively deal with the age-old problem of never-ending case backlogs in the courts.”

Among these measures, she said, included recruitment of more judicial officers and staff, building and refurbishment of more courts, adoption of modern management practices including but not limited to leveraging ICT (information communication technology) in case management and processes.

“The judiciary has also carried out special initiatives such as themed Service Weeks where categorised cases are heard and concluded within the Service Week period. The Case Load Report on the ‘Backlog the Judiciary Case Load Report’ by the directorate of performance management reveals that as of June 2018, there were 549,556 cases pending in courts countrywide.

“From these figures, there is no denying that the work ahead in resolving backlog of cases remains monumental, at least for the time being. One of the biggest contributors to case backlog in the country is the adversarial nature of our judicial system, which also leaves severely damaged relationships after the long tortuous court process,” Amadi pointed out.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Julius Moseti