The Judiciary plans to hire 50 new magistrates next month with an aim of filling the gap in the High Court following the promotion of 10 judges to the Court of Appeal.
Chief Justice Martha Koome hinted at this during a meeting to discuss the backlog of cases.
“We also need a multi-door approach like the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Court Annexed Mediation to offload cases from the courts,” she said.
The CJ noted that mediation has had a success story with more than 5,000 cases being resolved injecting Sh14 billion back into the economy.
She said all cases in the courts should be active before a clerk, deputy registrar or judge.
“I will engage other stakeholders at the National Council on the Administration of Justice to encourage the use of plea bargaining,” she said.
Koome encouraged parties and the courts to reduce or completely do away with adjournment of cases in order to clear backlog.
She has previously stated that she wants all cases resolved within three years of filing, and within a year in the appellate stage.
-Edited by SKanyara
