11 judges drafted in a programme to clear backlog of cases

NAIROBI, KENYA: Eleven recently appointed judges have been drafted into a new programme to ease backlog of cases in the courts.

They will handle 1,500 pending civil and civil appeal cases, starting on Monday next week, in a new programme launched by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga.

Most of the matters are at the Nairobi's Milimani high court.

The initiative is to clear 82,136 backlog of cases in Nairobi, which is nearly half of the 177,898 suits pending countrywide.

The initiative, dubbed the "Civil Cases Service Week" targets the High Court Civil Division at Milimani in Nairobi, which has the highest number of pending cases totaling 35,213. Of these, 8,467 are Civil Appeals. Some of the appeals have been pending for over 14 years in the High Court," a statement from the judiciary read in part.

The CJ said during the launch of the initiative that the newly appointed judges will serve at the Division for a period of two weeks before being posted to courts across the country with the greatest need.

Mutunga added that the judiciary was committed to expediting delivery of justice in the courts in accordance with wishes and aspirations of Kenyans as enshrined in the constitution.

The judges of the High Court, who were sworn in on July 1, will all serve for two weeks at the Civil Division of the High Court in Nairobi, hearing Civil Appeals, before proceeding to their new stations.