Judiciary probes complaints by Meru lawyers – KBC

The Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman has launched a probe into complaints by Meru lawyers against one of the magistrates.

This is after over 100 protesting lawyers from the county paralyzed court proceedings at Tigania law courts on Tuesday demanding the transfer of the principal magistrate in charge of the station over alleged unfairness, corruption and high-handedness.

Waving placards and blowing whistles, the lawyers stormed the court’s gate which had been locked and cordoned off by anti-riot police.

Court officials and litigants were forced to take off, leaving the courtrooms empty.

In a statement, the Judiciary said the office of the Judiciary Ombudsman is seized of the matter to establish the truth, noting that the Judiciary Service Commission will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against any judicial officer found culpable of gross misconduct.

The statement from the department of public affairs and communication read in part “The Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman (OJO) exists to receive and process public complaints…..Stakeholders and members of the public are advised that this should be the first point of call.  In this case, OJO is now seized of the matter to establish the truth”.

The Judiciary further said it appreciated the vigilance of stakeholders and the demand for better service but dismissed calls by the lawyers for the transfer of magistrates as a disciplinary measure.

“Once again, we appreciate the civic vigilance and assure all stakeholders that the matter at Tigania Law Courts is being looked into, with a view to delivering justice to both the LSK and the Judicial Officer. While some advocates are asking for transfer of magistrates, transfer is not a disciplinary measure. Should any Judicial Officer be found culpable, they are not transferred to another court because no court deserves bad services.  Instead, appropriate disciplinary measures are taken by the Judicial Service Commission”.

However, the Judiciary appeared to partly blame the lawyers for the drama which it said was triggered by the late arrival of one of the advocates forcing the said magistrate to push the case, a move that angered them.

“While not taking sides, it is noted that one of the triggers of the altercation was that an Advocate came to court late and the Magistrate was firm and had moved on to the next case whose parties were ready to proceed. We request Kenyans and stakeholders to support the Judiciary’s efforts towards just but also expeditious delivery of justice, which is what every litigant wants. Kindly be in court on time and ready to proceed when your case is called out” said the statement.

The allegations of delayed justice contradict a performance evaluation report 2018/2019 that ranked Tigania Court second-best performing in the country for resolving 4,207 cases in the year under review.

The Judiciary is at the same time encouraging other conflict management methods like Alternative Justice Systems including mediation which leave
relationships intact.

“Instead of being quick to discredit individual Judicial Officers, Kenyans are reminded that there is an appeal process. If dissatisfied with a decision
in the Magistrate’s Court, they should move to the High Court and even to the Court of Appeal. If the Magistrate was unfair, the same will be revealed at the higher level and they will get justice”.