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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Report shows men dominate criminal cases as women lead in civil suits

National

By Kamau Muthoni | Nov 17, 2024

You will likely find a woman in civil courts while men in criminal courts.

Data released by the Judiciary on Friday indicates that women dominate the filing of cases involving employment, land, divorce, commercial disputes, and other civil disputes.

On the flip side, men are notorious for crime, with data revealing that they dominate traffic offenses, bribery cases, and anti-corruption cases.

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Data indicates that you are likely to find a Kenyan man engaging in a crime while finding a woman with a civil dispute.

According to the data, 64 per cent of those who filed civil cases before the magistrate’s court were women. However, fewer women, 12 per cent, filed cases before the High Court.
Interestingly, in the Employment and Labour Relations Court, at least 50 per cent of the litigants were women.

They also constitute 47 per cent of persons who sought justice before the Environment and Lands Court.

Meanwhile, 98 per cent of traffic offences before the courts involved men. Men also dominated robbery cases, with 96 per cent of the cases involving men.

Data launched by Chief Justice Martha Koome also revealed that 77 per cent of those in court over corruption are male.

At the Kadhi’s court, there is a likelihood of a Muslim woman filing for divorce than a man. Women were litigant in 90 per cent of the cases, and 59 per cent pursued their ex-husbands over matrimonial property.

The trends by adult men reflects what the young boys are doing out there. At least 88 per cent of the children who were in conflict with the law in the last one year were boys.
The cases filed in the country are mostly in urban areas, perhaps due to the high concentration of Kenyans in these areas.

Nairobi City, Kiambu, Nakuru, Mombasa, Meru, Machakos, Kakamega, Uasin Gishu, Bungoma, Kisumu, and Nyeri—account for over 50 per cent of cases filed in the Judiciary.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja led the city by a considerable margin, with 110,374 filings, followed by Kiambu, with 48,872, and Nakuru, with 26,505.

In contrast, 36 counties report filings below the national average of 10,685 cases, with counties such as Isiolo, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Marsabit, Lamu, Mandera, Wajir, Tana River, and Samburu recording fewer than 2,000 cases each.

With an increasing number of cases filed before courts, Judges and magistrates have been working until midnight to clear the backlog.

In the financial year 2023-2024, the number of criminal cases shot up to 292,138 from 253,878 the previous year. At the same time, there were 223,983 civil cases compared to 169,516 the previous year.

“Criminal cases continue to contribute to a larger proportion of filed cases. The number of filed criminal cases comprised the percent of registered cases at 57 per cent. This was an increase of 15 per cent compared to FY2022/2023. Similarly, the number of filed civil matters increased by 32 per cent continuing an upward trend that began four years ago,” the report reads in part.

Data showed that the resolution of criminal and civil cases had increased by 14 and 32 per cent, respectively.

Despite increasing cases, the judiciary still works with less than half of the required personnel.

At the same time, the third arm of government is still getting less money than what it ought to be allocated. According to the report, the budget allocation by Parliament had shrunk, leaving a 48 per cent funding gap.

It emerges that the Executive gobbles up 97.38 per cent of the budget, while Parliament gets 1.70 per cent.

However, Judiciary gets a paltry 0.92 per cent of the national cake.

Currently, the allocated Cost per Case is Sh 40,700. However, from an internal review, it was established that the optimal Cost per Case is Sh125,750.

During the year under review, at least 516,121 cases were filed, and therefore, to dispense with them within a year, It would require an optimal funding of Sh64 billion.

This was against the allocation of Sh21 billion in recurrent budget. This translated to an overall under-funding of Sh43 billion and Sh85,050 per case.

Justice Koome said that the funding gaps tend to affect Kenyans who have cases before court. She said that failure to properly oil the wheels of justice meant that they take longer to grind.

“The psychological impact of adjudicating distressing cases necessitates comprehensive wellness programmes to support our judicial personnel. Ensuring the safety, security, and well- being of our personnel is paramount to maintaining the effective functioning of the Judiciary. We therefore call upon the Legislature and the Executive to recognize these needs and allocate additional resources necessary to support the optimal operation of the Judiciary,” said Koome.

When President William Ruto took office, he promised to give the Judiciary its entitled quota of the budget.

This follows the Treasury’s promise that Judiciary would operate its own fund.

The Judiciary has been fighting to have 25 per cent of the total Sh3.3 trillion budget. Hence, it ought to get at least Sh75 billion, which it will independently spend.

Former CS Ukur Yatani announced that the Judiciary fund will be fully operational from July 1, 2023.

“The Judiciary Fund Act and Regulations have been enacted; two, the bank accounts for the fund have been opened at the Central Bank of Kenya; three, an appropriate budget for Judiciary in the financial year 2022-23 has been created; and four, Ifmis has been enhanced to accommodate Judiciary Fund operations,” said Yattani.

Justice Koome’s predecessor, Justice David Maraga, had been battling to get the fund. Justice Maraga asked to be given at least Sh75 billion, which is 25 per cent of the Sh3 trillion budget.

He even proposed that, the funding can be gradual, from 1.5 per cent. Maraga also projected that each county will have a courthouse in 10 years if the Treasury allocates Judiciary Sh5 billion for development.

“Out of a budget of about Sh3 trillion, give us just 2.5 per cent and we will dispose of cases within two years of their filing. Give us a development vote of about Sh5 billion a year and we will construct courts all over the country in 10 years,” he pleaded.

But the former CJ got half of the loaf- Sh47 billion to work with for the three years.

Data also revealed that at the close of the financial year, outstanding bills totaled Sh811.17 million, an increase from Sh608.07 million in the previous year.

This includes Sh410.01 million in development bills, Sh331.92 million in recurrent bills, and Court and arbitration awards account for Sh69.24 million.

“The Judiciary continues to face funding challenges owing to historical chronic underfunding of the justice sector. For the past three financial years, our funding has consistently fallen short by nearly 50 percent, limiting our capacity to meet the expanding demands of the institution,” she said.

In the meantime, majority of Judiciary employees who sought psychological help were dealing with grief.

The Status of the Judiciary Annual Report (SOJAR) indicated that its employees face significant occupational stress owing to dealing with nerve wrecking cases.

They include Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and traumatic issues involving children and horrific criminal cases.