Chief Justice David Maraga: Cases over five years old to get priority

Chief Justice David Maraga cuts the tape to officially open the new court building that will house three magistrates as Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka watches on. He said that cases that have been in court for over five years will be given priority to eliminate a backlog. (PHOTO: TITUS OTEBA/ STANDARD)

Cases that have been in court for over five years will be given priority to eliminate a backlog, Chief Justice David Maraga has said. 

Speaking at the Bungoma Law Courts yesterday after opening a new court housing, Mr Maraga said cases that are overfive years old would be dispensed with in a special session.

"Long cases without applicants will be dismissed as they are delaying the process in court and causing the backlog which is a tedious process. We need to dismiss them so that the concerned authorities can concentrate on other cases which should be given an upper hand," he said.

He added that the Judiciary was working to address the challenges at the Land Dispute Tribunal. He said a majority of the cases in court are related to land disputes.

The Chief Justice noted that some cases should be solved at home by elders to avoid jamming courts with cases that can find societal solutions.

He urged Kenyans to find alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to help speed up other court processes hence help reduce many cases that end up in court.