AG Githu Muigai contests ruling on court mandate

Attorney General Githu Muigai. (Photo: Beverlyne Musili)

Attorney General Githu Muigai and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Nairobi branch have appealed against a court decision that stripped magistrates of the power to hear land and environment cases.

The decision also blocked the Chief Justice from carrying out transfers across various court divisions.

In his appeal, the AG argued that the judgement delivered by judges Anyara Emukule, Said Chitembwe and Mugure Thande denied Kenyans the right to have their cases settled expeditiously.

"The learned judges erred in fact and in law by failing to give the Constitution a holistic interpretation and in particular interpreting the Constitution in a manner that constrains access to justice by citizens as guaranteed by the Constitution," argued Githu.

According to the appeal, the AG and the LSK's Nairobi branch claim the judgement was restrictive in nature.

Case backlog

The crisis in the Judiciary stems from directives by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to assign judges and magistrates to handle matters across the board in a bid to clear the case backlog and fast-track justice.

The former CJ appointed judges from the Employment and Labour Relations Court and the Environment and Land Court to preside over criminal matters that fall under the High Court, and at the same time gazetted a law allowing the magistrates' court to deal with labour and land issues.

These decisions have left the Judiciary in a spin as they are being contested over their legal validity.

After a major setback on the magistrate court's ruling on land and employment disputes, all eyes now turn to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal over the many criminal and land cases.

The argument before the Supreme Court is that Labour and Environment court judges have no powers to entertain criminal cases.

Magistrates have already been directed not to take on new employment and land cases until the matter regarding whether they have powers to hear them is resolved.