Nairobi barred from reducing judicial funding

Kenya’s High Court has prevented the government from cutting the Judicial Service Commission’s funding. Justice Makau Mutua issued the order after the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) sued the National Treasury and the Attorney-General’s office to protest against the budget cuts. The Nation reports that Mutua asked the commission to provide a report on how the cost-cutting has affected the dispensation of justice. ‘Pending the hearing and determination of this case, an order is hereby issued restraining the National Treasury, its agents, officers or any persons from implementing a 24 September circular or issuing any unwarranted directive with the same effect on the judiciary’s budget,’ Mutua said. The Treasury’s Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani in September issued a directive proposing drastic budgetary cuts of up to 50% for the JSC.