CJ Koome launches justice reforms for digital courts, SGBV survivors and 2027 polls
Key points
- Five instruments launched at 38th NCAJ meeting under CJ Martha Koome.
- ICT policy pushes paperless justice; CTS already linked to ODPP Uadilifu and Prisons e-filing.
- NTSA ownership checks live; Lands Ardhi Sasa link near final; secure tracks for EACC and Witness Protection.
- SGBV SOPs plus people-centred guidelines; agenda also covers Sexual Offences Bill and 2027 election readiness.
Chief Justice Martha Koome used the opening of the 38th National Council on the Administration of Justice meeting to put five reform packages on the table — digital courts, survivor-centred SGBV handling and early 2027 election coordination among them, Eastleigh Voice reported.
"Technology is no longer optional," she argued, unveiling a Justice Sector ICT Policy and Action Plan. The Judiciary's Case Tracking System already talks to ODPP's Uadilifu system for electronic charge sheets, links prisons for appeals and order verification, and checks NTSA motor vehicle ownership in real time. An Ardhi Sasa link with Lands is in final stages; probation accounts and specialised platforms for EACC and the Witness Protection Agency are in build.
Paper still kills the paperless dream
Koome admitted many e-documents are still printed because receiving offices demand hard copies — and told the sector to accept electronically authenticated files. Parallel launches: Standard Operating Procedures on sexual and gender-based violence so survivors are not secondarily victimised, plus People-Centred Justice Guidelines that score systems by user experience, not only case-disposal counts.
The two-day agenda also flags a Draft Sexual Offences Amendment Bill including femicide response, instant traffic fines, wildlife crime, identification-parade reforms, child-friendly justice, legal aid, open prisons and recovery courts — and election preparedness for 2027.
Implementation is the only scoreboard
Policies do not cut queues; system uptime and survivor wait times do. Politics desk: Politics.
Parliament and county justice committees should demand quarterly digital adoption numbers. Without them, NCAJ launches stay PowerPoint until the next election season panics the same bottlenecks.
Court users will notice digital reform only when a charge sheet arrives without a photocopy chase and when a prison appeal uploads without a physical file chase across Nairobi. Until then, the 38th NCAJ meeting is a launch date, not a service level.
County justice centres can pilot paperless intake on traffic and family files first, where volume is high and the political temperature is lower than SGBV or election petitions.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of CJ Koome at the 38th NCAJ meeting. Official NCAJ texts control reform content.
