4,000 cases yet to be determined by Court of Appeal - Maraga

Chief Justice David Maraga has revealed that cases that are currently waiting for determination in the Court of Appeal are 4,000.

Maraga has said that the Appeal Court has for many years been having its sittings only in Nairobi but things have changed since the promulgation of the new Constitution.

 The Chief Justice said that cases have been taking long awaiting determinations from the courts due to few numbers of judges.

Chief Justice David Maraga (left) accompanied with Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, deputy CJ Philomena Mwilu, Court of Appeal President Justice William Ouko among other judges and lawyers during the official opening of the Court of Appeal.

He said that the new Constitution has ensured that justice is brought closer to people.

Maraga spoke on Friday when he presided over the opening of the Court of Appeal in Mombasa county.

The Court of Appeal in Mombasa is the 4th court of appeal in Kenya after Nyeri, Kisumu and the one in Nairobi.

The court will be administering justice to the entire coastal region.

Maraga said that the Judicial Service Commission has only 19 judges across the country, hence the need to admit more judges to help in reducing pending cases.

He said that the JSC is in the process of admitting 11 more judges.

The Mombasa Court of Appeal will be stationed in Malindi town and will be having its sittings in both Malindi and Mombasa towns.

Maraga, however, said that the Judiciary has managed to solve 85 per cent of cases that have been awaiting ruling for more than five years.

“Our plans are that by the end of this year, we would have handled cases that have been in courts for over 5 years,” the CJ said.

Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu said the court will bring justice closer to people, adding that rulings are only made in courts and not through various platforms.  

“Cases are decided in courts, not on newspapers or through rumour mongering,” she said.

Attorney General Kihara Kariuki has said that corruption can be fought by everyone.

He said that justice must be brought to the locals who are looking for justice in courts.

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho said that his government remained committed to supporting the court to fight corruption.