The Judicial Service Commission has announced the suspension of the recruitment of eleven Court of Appeal judges set to begin on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
In a statement issued by the judicial commission chairperson Justice Martha Koome on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, the commission pinned the suspension of the exercise to a 15% expenditure cut in the appropriated budget as per a National Treasury Circular.
“The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is in receipt of the National Treasury Circular No. 6/2024 dated 28th June 2024 communicating the curtailing of expenditure to 15% of the appropriated budget. The same limits expenditure to only critical and essential services.
“This directive has far-reaching consequences on the operations of the Judiciary and the JSC. In this regard, we are compelled to make major adjustments to planned programs and activities. Regrettably, this has necessitated the decision by the JSC to suspend all pending recruitments including the 11 (eleven) Judges of the Court of Appeal which was scheduled to commence today,” part of the statement said.
Court of Appeal Judges
The interviews for the Court of Appeal seats were originally slated for June 18 to 21, 2024 but were postponed by the commission following the death of Makadara magistrate Monica Kivuti in a shooting incident.
In the statement, the commission said the Court of Appeal has only 29 judges serving in six stations across the country who are tasked with dealing with a total of 13, 331 pending cases as of May 2024, translating to nine benches at any given time.
The cash-strapped judicial service also said enhanced security arrangements following the tragic death of Makadara magistrate Monica Kivuti had necessitated the restructuring and reallocation of its budget as it called for more resources in the financial year 2024/2025 to help address the challenges plaguing it.
“In conclusion, the administration of justice is the cornerstone of democracy and its effective functioning is critical in maintaining public order and respect for the rule of law.
“In exercising our mandate of advising the National Government on improving efficiency in the administration of justice, the JSC will engage Parliament and the Executive with a view to enhance and secure the Judiciary and the JSC budget.”
The cuts come days after President William Ruto proposed budget cuts across all government departments, which is set to extend to counties.
Ruto pointed out that the budget cuts would start from the executive office of the president before extending to other departments including the judiciary.