The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) vice chairman, Macharia Njeru, has asserted the commission’s commitment towards enhancing the administration of justice saying that the institution of the judiciary is there to ensure there is access to justice for all. Njeru and other JSC officials are part of two teams traversing the country with the objective of interacting with court users especially the public to understand their needs first hand in order to improve service delivery. “The whole idea is to ensure that we have access to the public for the purpose of interacting proactively by coming up with strategies to solve issues that cut across the country,” Njeru said, “We are engaging court users’ committees which include the public, the Law Society of Kenya and other stakeholders in the administration of justice,” he added. Njeru said the visit to Murang’a law courts among other courts in the country is meant to fulfill the commission’s mandate to promote and facilitate the independence of the judiciary and the efficient, effective and transparent administration of justice. He affirmed the importance of the independence of the Judiciary saying it is good for everyone and nobody should try to interfere with it either in Parliament, the Executive, civil societies or business entities. “There have always been attempts by other organs to encroach on the independence of the judiciary but the Judiciary has to be independent from everybody,” he said. This is the fifth phase of court visits since 2012 which seeks to foster collaboration with county governments and other stakeholders including the public and to improve administration of justice by an outreach that identifies areas that require streamlining and JSC intervention. Njeru noted that there have been complaints by the public about poor services by staff, judges and judicial officers. “Judiciary as an institution has its fair share of challenges so there will be issues pertaining to members but as JSC we strive to enhance accountability and mechanisms are in place to ensure professionalism,” he said, “We therefore call upon the judges and other members of staff to be accountable to the public,” he added. The commission is also evaluating and inspecting infrastructure and ICT developments in the respective courts. They will also engage and sensitise judges, judicial officers and staff on the commission’s mandate and approved policies as well as receive feedback on areas that require interventions because findings inform decision and policy making as well as allocation of resources On the matter of the remuneration of JSC staff, Njeru cautioned the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) against interfering with the salaries of judiciary employees saying that is the mandate of the JSC. He said that matters of salary are fairly sensitive and JSC Staff at any given time have their welfare and conditions of service taken into consideration properly.

Source: Kenya News Agency