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{
    "id": 971074,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/971074/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 164,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Rarieda, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Otiende Amollo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13465,
        "legal_name": "Paul Otiende Amollo",
        "slug": "paul-otiende-amollo"
    },
    "content": "urging the Judiciary to fast-track establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman by legislation. I want to confirm that when I was the Ombudsman of the Republic of Kenya, I had the good fortune to persuade the Chief Justice (CJ) to establish this office administratively. Establishing it by legislation will go a long way. It is safe to add that it is important to note that any legislation that establishes this office must have necessary linkage with the overall Office of the Ombudsman in the Republic of Kenya so that there does not appear to be any competition in terms of jurisdiction and to smoothen their working relations. Secondly, this Report urges the need to establish infrastructure for the courts. Essentially, this urges the Judiciary to establish more courts to ensure access to justice. This is a good thing but I urge Members that in the reality that we live in — where the Judiciary does not get all the funding it requires — we can also do something about this. I urge Members to consider saving part of the allocation in terms of the NG–CDF towards establishment of the structures of the law courts. This can be done. I have done this in Rarieda and I am aware that at least 10 constituencies in this Republic have set aside land or buildings towards this effort. If we were to do this, we would ensure that there is a greater reach for the Judiciary across the country. Hon. Speaker, this Report covers the issue of transfer of tribunals. There are over 50 tribunals and many ministries are sticking to them for whatever reasons. I support the Report in terms of ensuring transfer of jurisdiction of the tribunals to the Judiciary as contemplated by law. This Report covers the issue of funding of the Judiciary and here is an important point. It captures the need for the National Treasury to ensure sufficient allocation to the Judiciary. While I support that idea, I fault the idea of urging the National Treasury to do so. Article 173 of the Constitution puts that responsibility on us, not on the National Treasury. Under Article 173 of the Constitution, once the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary has prepared estimates, he or she submits them to the National Assembly. It is up to us in the National Assembly to engage with the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary and determine the allocation. Once we have determined it under Sub-Article 4 on approval it becomes a charge on the Consolidated Fund. Hon. Speaker, we have not emphasised this point enough in the last 10 years. We purposefully created a Judiciary Fund so that the Judiciary may be independent and its sufficient funding would be ensured by the House. This Fund has not been activated for the last 10 years. The reason was that the regulations under the Constitution and Judicial Services Act had not been passed by this House. I am aware that by the time this Report was signed, this House had not passed those regulations but this House has since passed those regulations, last year. I urge that, to this extent, you may need to issue a Communication to indicate that the Judiciary Fund is now activated and Article 173 of the Constitution is fully in operation. So that, we as a House, the Judiciary itself and the National Treasury will understand that as we move forward, we will need to observe the dictates of Article 173. There is no more hindrance. While the Report is very good, there are some aspects that I decry. I decry the fact that in 2020 we are discussing a Report of 2016. Indeed, a Report that came at a time that the CJ who was there then had long retired. I decry the fact that while this Report was signed on 9th May 2019, we are coming to discuss it in March 2020. We must figure out a way of efficiently determining and discussing these matters. I respect the fact that the Committee met six times on this Report and perhaps that is where the issue lies. We may need to capture the fact that it is not really for the Committee to dig so deep into some of those matters as to delay this Report by years, as much as to transmit that Report with necessary observations so that we can interrogate it quickly and move on. Now that it has covered two years, I am sure that moving forward, we will be discussing them much sooner. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}