BY SAM ALFAN.
Justice Oscar Angote has taken over as the Presiding Judge of the Environment and Land Court in an event presided by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
The newly installed presiding judge thanked his predecessor Samson Okong’o for exemplary service and leadership during his tenure.
In her speech, the CJ commended the court for registering a Case Clearance Rate (CCR) of 122% in the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.
“Over 78% of the Courts had a CCR of over 100%. I commend the Court for this positive performance and wiith population growth, there is no doubt that we are bound to face challenges of land scarcity and with that comes conflict over the access, ownership and use of this valuable asset,” said Koome.
She reminded the court to appreciate the urgency of dispensing justice with respect to disputes arising from environmental and land conflicts.
The ELC, she said, should be a driver of our the ‘green jurisprudence and precedent’ which she explained as being responsive to the social context of high prevalence of land conflicts and that can enable land to be a driver for social-economic development.
The CJ revealed that Judiciary now have 39 ELC court stations in the country and 51 judges serving in the various court stations and the manpower that is capable of ensuring expeditious disposal of environmental and land matters.
“My challenge to the incoming Presiding Judge and the Judges of the ELC is to target the 4,406 cases that have been in the Court system for over three years for conclusion by the time of his first anniversary in office”, said CJ.
Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu added that the importance of the ELC cannot be gainsaid and by extension, the weight of responsibility befalling the leadership of the ELC is considerable.
DCJ added that Justice Okong’o has done a sterling job steering the ELC over the past five years and it has been marked by expansion of the court, reduction of case backlog and increase in judges’ productivity.
‘Efficient, expeditious and just determination of ELC matters has direct impact on nation’s economic development. Beyond social value of land within communal and familial settings, it is essential that the value of land is not locked up in long winding disputes”, said Mwilu.
DCJ added that ELC has a very specific and important place in our constitutional structure. Indeed, the Court enjoys a wide jurisdiction under S. 13(2) of the Act.
On his part, the new presiding Judge Angote said he will be proposing to the Chief Justice the establishment of an Environmental division within the court, that will deal with environmental disputes urgently without queuing such matters with the land disputes.
“We will have to collaborate with our partners to digitize the operations of the court. The court needs requisite hardware and software to be more efficient.
He added that digitizing operations will significantly reduce number of missing files and better efficient case management and tracing and speeding transcription of records of proceedings.
Judge Okongo acknowledged the support he got from ElC Judges , registar and staff.
” I am handling over a Court which is now substantially established with 51 judges with a presence in 36 counties”, said Justice Okong’o .
He added that when he took over there were many challenges ELC was at its formative stages with no administrative structure.
