WE, the members of the NCAJ, convened for a high-level statutory and consultative meeting to strategise on upscaling measures to fight corruption, enhance accountability and seamless delivery of service to the Kenyan people;
COGNIZANT that we are all collectively bound by the Constitution which requires accountability to the people of Kenya;
CONCERNED that:
- Corruption persists as a complex national challenge and a sustainability threat.
- Corruption continues to compromise public institutions and adversely impact on service delivery and economic growth.
- Corruption undermines accountability and erodes public trust.
- APPRECIATING that the justice sector plays a crucial role in preventing, investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating corruption cases;
ACKNOWLEDGING that a large body of work has been done, including policy, legal and administrative reforms on the fight against corruption and enhanced accountability;
REAFFIRMING the justice sector’s resolve and continued commitment to scaling up efforts to combat corruption and reverse its adverse impacts on society;
NOTING that despite a series of critical interventions undertaken to combat corruption over time, the vice is evolving, hence the need for new approaches to address it;
COMMITED to improve our diverse but collective institutional cooperation mechanisms to address corruption and upscale practice imperatives to embed accountability in all our operations and functions;
HEREBY RESOLVE TO:
- Galvanise our collective efforts to provide strategic and focused leadership boldly and decisively in the fight against corruption.
- Prioritise systems and processes examination in justice sector agencies to identify corruption risk areas and take remedial measures to seal opportunities for corruption.
- Digitise and automate processes within our institutions to secure efficiency, accountability and seamless service delivery.
- Collaborate to automate instant traffic fines to address traffic offences to ease backlog and root out abuse of process within the justice sector.
- Strengthen inter-agency collaboration and coordination to seal information and communication gaps to facilitate the fight against corruption.
- Strengthen NCAJ to efficiently and effectively coordinate the justice sector in the fight against corruption.
- Enhance the quality, expeditious and procedural arrests, investigation, prosecution and trial of corruption-related crimes.
- Adopt efficient case management systems and prioritize hearing and determination of corruption and economic crimes cases in the Special Anti-Corruption Courts.
- Prioritise hearing and determination of corruption-related cases through rapid results initiatives, appropriate funding, relevant training and human resource capital.
- Mobilise adequate resources in the justice sector to sustain the efforts to support the fight against corruption, enhanced accountability and efficient service delivery.
- Adopt and implement efficient case management systems across all agencies.
- Augment public engagement through Court Users Committees nationwide to address emerging challenges, rebuild public trust and fast-track conclusion of anti-corruption cases at the grassroots level.
- Develop a framework and roadmap to guide the short, medium and long-term strategies by all actors to address corruption, enhance accountability and seamless delivery of services, culminating into a national anti-corruption conversation.
Issued at Mombasa this 27th Day of February 2024-
Hon. Justice Martha K. Koome, EGH
Chief Justice and Chairperson,
National Council on the Administration of Justice
