By Luke Anami
The leadership of Chief Justice Evan Gicheru has come under more fire, this time from a senior member of the bench.
Justice James Rika, a judge of the Industrial Court in Mombasa, told the 49th Annual General Meeting of the Coast branch of the Federation of Kenya Employers on April 23, that the Chief Justice must engage judges more often.
He said this would improve the operations of the Industrial Court , especially with regard to the new labour laws.
"The Labour Institutions Act places a duty on the Rules Board and the Chief Justice to constantly engage one another in making rules for the regulation of the conduct of proceedings in the Industrial Court," said Justice Rika.
He said the Industrial Court that deals with trade and labour disputes, is under pressure from the public to improve service delivery.
"We have to keep focused on that duty, which the law imposes upon us. Kenyans are asking us to shape up, or ship out," he said.
"Unfortunately, we have not seen much movement from the Chief Justice," he said.
New laws
"We do not know if he intends to engage the judges of the Industrial Court in matters that are important in the functioning of the new laws," added the judge, who was speaking on the role of the Industrial Court.
He said the upsurge in the breakdown of law and order shows that the law and institutions created to settle disputes are not working.
Justice Rika asked employers to also play a more active role in calling for the judiciary to "shape up or ship out." Regarding some of the decisions made by the High Court, he said they "are demeaning to the strides made in actualisation of Industrial Justice."
He added: "The actions of the mainstream judiciary, both judicial and administrative in relation to the Industrial Court, reflect a clear lack of understanding of the Industrial justice system by the mainstream judiciary."
