The Judiciary through a supplementary budget is seeking Sh100 million to power law courts using solar to cut expenditure amid a rise in the cost of electricity.
Already, the courts have set aside Sh40 million for the project that will see major courts benefit from the solar project.
This came as the Judiciary through the Judicial Service Commission admitted that they were facing a financial crisis that was hampering their services.
This emerged when members of the commission visited Naivasha law courts on Tuesday as part of their tour across the country, to establish challenges facing the court users and staff.
Commissioner Everlyne Olwande said many courts did not have backup generators and the outages were affecting service delivery.
Addressing the press, she said in their supplementary budget, they were seeking an extra Sh100 million which would be used to power the courts through solar.
“We have already set aside Sh40 million for the solar project as the courts go green and in the wake of rising cost of power and frequent outages,” she said while flanked by other commissioners.
Olwande who is the team leader, said the commission would assist the Naivasha law courts set up a Child Protection Unit as currently they had to rely on Nakuru courts.
While lauding the Naivasha courts as one of the best in the region, she said that plans were underway to come up with more courts in Gilgil and Mai Mahiu towns.
“Many of the land cases are being handled in Nakuru and after reviewing data, we shall seek ways of coming up with an Environment and Land court in Naivasha,” she said.
The Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi admitted that the department was facing a financial crisis across the country.
“Currently, the Judiciary is facing financial challenges but we are working with the little we have to improve service delivery,” she said.
The secretary, Naivasha Court Users Association Njeri Kahumba, identified lack of a Child Protection Unit and congestion at Naivasha prisons as some of the major challenges facing them.
She said they had managed to assist 100 inmates have their bond terms reviewed while calling for more courts in Gilgil and Mai Mahiu town.
“For years, we have never had a children protection unit in Naivasha and we have sent a proposal to the area CDF office to assist us come up with one,” she said.
Others who spoke were LSK representative P K Njuguna who called for more courts in the town due to the rising workload and population.
