Kenya’s Chief Justice Martha Koome has affirmed that the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) is committed to fighting against corruption and economic crimes through various proactive ways.

Justice Koome said to curb corruption, the council aims to strengthen coordination, collaboration and capacity building in the fight against the menace, improve legal, policy and administrative environment, enhance efficiency and accountability, deepen digital innovations to limit human interaction and entrench sustainability safeguards and mechanisms to support the agenda.

Koome was addressing journalists in the coastal city of Mombasa during the 31st National Council on the Administration of Justice meeting that she chaired. The two-day meeting brings together actors in the criminal justice system to deliberate on measures that foster the rule of law.

Among the issues discussed included the Sexual Offences Draft Amendment Bill 2025 and strengthening of the fight against corruption, where law enforcement agencies are key players in the fight for justice

“We have good practices that have succeeded in the fight against corruption and we are going to scale these best practices to see to it that we eradicate the vice but with all this, we will need the cooperation of the members of the public,” the CJ explained.

She further announced a move to roll out an anti-corruption strategic guiding framework set to be finalised in March 2025 aimed at guiding Kenyans on how to address various issues of corruption in all different facets.

“Concerned that corruption persists as a national challenge, undermining accountability, eroding public trust and negatively affecting service delivery, we all serve the people of Kenya and therefore we appreciate that the justice sector institutions represented here play a crucial role in creating awareness,” she noted.

Additionally, she urged justice institutions to uphold the security of witnesses who hold very crucial evidence that will enable firms to deal with issues of corruption firmly.

The Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin, who is also representing the Inspector General of Police, highlighted the need to fast-track land fraud cases, noting that land fraud had become one of the fastest evolving offenses in the country.

He said, “Numerous cases of land fraud are being reported almost daily across the country. We have so many of them pending before the courts. I call upon the judiciary to expedite these matters so that both the victims and criminals get justice,” he said.

The council is also focusing on several other important matters, including the review of police clearance procedures for ex-offenders, digitisation of the Occurrence Book, reforms aimed at implementing instant traffic fines and the development of guidelines to enhance the enforcement of eviction court orders.

• A Tell / KNA report / Nuru Soud and Fatma Said