The Youth Café Discussions With The Chief Justice On Social Transformation Through Access To Justice.

In commemoration of the International Day of Democracy, a section of the Civil Societies Organizations,  The International Commission of Jurists, International Justice Mission Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International Kenya, Centre of Rights Education and Awareness, Transparency International- Kenya,  and The Youth Café held a virtual meeting with the Chief Justice, the president of the Supreme Court, honorable Lady Justice Martha Koome, On September 17, 2021, to deliberate on collaborations and contributions towards the implementation of the Chief Justice’s vision of social transformation through access to justice.

We acknowledge that the judiciary is the cornerstone towards realizing human rights and democracy under the rule of law. Within their respective mandates, the Civil Society Organizations continue to play an important role in enhancing judicial reforms and strengthening the administration of justice, promoting and protecting independence, integrity, and legitimacy in the judiciary.

In this regard, we note that there are key issues and proposals that we need to address. Among them was the transfer and promotion of judges and related adverse effects on part-heard matters were concerns we raised. Support by Civil Society Organizations in capacity building and modalities for engaging with the judiciary training institutes. A proposal for the Chief Justice to hold a bi-annual meeting with their Civil Society Organizations involved in championing access to and administration of justice for vulnerable and marginalized groups including the youth. 

To have social transformation through access to justice, we need to have representatives of community justice centers in court and user committees to further enhance access to justice for vulnerable communities. Court user committees are critical forums to help address challenges to the effective delivery of services at the individual court level. They enhance public participation and better public understanding of court operations. This will boost involvement especially for the youth who constantly feel like a target of the justice system across the country and world.

Concerns over rising cases of gender-based violence, sexual offenses, police abuse of power, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances as we head into elections are quite evident among the people. We shared a proposal with the Chief Justice to consider having specialized courts to speed up the process of resolving such cases.

The Youth Café supported the judiciary in conducting public awareness campaigns among the youth and everyone at large on the judiciary's filing system by using various forms of media to sensitize users of the system and its functions. Key points of discussion were concerns of increasing threats and attacks on the judiciary and its workers instigated by youth as well as their support to counteract the attacks and strengthen judicial independence, especially in light of the 2022 election.

An emphasis on strategies to expedite the hearing and determination of anti-corruption and economic crime cases particularly those involving public officers likely to contest in their 2022 general election was heavily discussed. All together we stated policies and laws should be made and amended to ensure candidates vying have no pending criminal cases. This would ease off a lot of pressure on the youth ahead of the general election as the integrity of candidates would have been vetted.

The honorable Chief Justice acknowledged Civil Societies in promoting access to justice and the rule of law. She welcomed further engagement with Civil Society Organizations and The Youth Café through open and constructive dialogue while maintaining judicial independence. Through increasing funding, the Chief Justice indicated that the judiciary would prioritize efficiency through expeditious disposal of cases and elimination of backlog including a special focus on anti-corruption cases and those on extrajudicial executions and sexual and gender-based violence.

She highlighted the intentions of the judiciary to enhance inter-agency and inter-institutional collaboration between the judiciary and other arms of government and non-governmental stakeholders such as The Youth Café to increase and retain judicial capacity and independence in anticipation of the 2022 general elections. The Chief Justice found the judiciary’s plan to leverage policy organs on judicial funding to ensure efficiency, prioritized training, and capacity building. Additionally, the judiciary will build the capacity of judicial officers on target engagement and thematic issues through collaboration between stakeholders in the judicial training institute and as a result, involve more youth in the process.

Finally, the Chief Justice noted that through the constitution and public participation, the judiciary would strengthen Court Users' Committees to increase access to justice to vulnerable members of the public and many marginalized groups. She affirmed her vision to maximize the potential of Users Committees to realize this. We recently launched a vision for social justice to create courts as centers of excellence that innovate suitable unique intentions to address peculiar needs.

To this end, Civil Society Organizations and The Youth Café pledged continued support to the Chief Justice in implementing her vision for the judiciary and championing judicial independence as a rule of law. We encourage the Chief Justice to remain steadfast and true to her oath in the office of protecting and defending the constitution of Kenya.

The Youth Café works with young men and women around Africa as a trailblazer in advancing youth-led approaches toward achieving sustainable development, social equity, innovative solutions, community resilience, and transformative change.

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