Revenue collections from the courts across the country reduced by 18 per cent between the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years.
This is according to the State of the Judiciary and Administration of Justice Report for the year 2019/2020.
The report which was launched by Chief Justice David Maraga on Friday shows that a total of Sh2,271,204,317 were collected during the year, compared to Sh2,693,803,804 collected during the previous year.
The reduction has been attributed to the reduced number of filed and resolved cases in the FY 2019/20 yielding a reduction in fees and fines.
This was due to the scaling down of court activities from March 2020 necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The revenue estimate for the FY was Sh2,99 billion, a shortfall of Sh794,971 from what has been collected.
The target set by the National Treasury was reduced by 34 per cent, from Sh4.54 billion in FY 2018/20 to Sh2.99 billion in FY 2019/20.
During the period under review, the Judiciary Financial Management Information System (JFMIS) was operationalized in all the court stations and tribunals.
The system continued to be a good platform for curbing fraud on revenue, deposits, and expenditure management as envisioned under the Sustaining Judiciary Transformation (SJT) blueprint.
The Nairobi region courts implemented the CTS which is an automated case tracking system whereby litigants are able to file their cases online and pay using mobile services during the year under review.
The report has also revealed that it has been allocated less amount by the Treasury in its budget, despite the fact that the Judiciary has higher staffing levels and courts are spread across the entire country.
The Judiciary’s proportionate budget allocation declined from 1.2 per cent in FY 2018/19 to 1.09 per cent in the FY 2019/20.
