Chief Justice Willy Mutunga has refuted claims that more judges, prosecutors and clerks are needed to transform the judicial system.
He says instead, the judiciary needs new and innovative approaches to complement traditional approaches.
Speaking during Innovation Justice Forum held in Nairobi, Mutunga said that new approaches will be able to leapfrog access to justice in a way not imagined before. This is especially true for a country like ours, where we are in the middle of a widely supported transformation process and where we have a lot of room develop something new.
“As Chief Justice I recognise the faults of my justice system but I endorse where change is needed. But I have to rely on justice entrepreneurs to be innovative, courageous, determined, and creative. We need your entrepreneurial, technological and legal skills to help us improve our justice systems,” he said.
He said that Kenya and East Africa is uniquely positioned to take a leading role in justice innovation since we have innovation and technology hubs as well as well-educated young population and lot of entrepreneurship.
“I believe we can add a lot more value to what justice system can do for citizens through new technologies, cutting edge knowledge on conflict resolution, and new forms of organisation,” he said.
He added that even with more than four billion people who are estimated not to have adequate access to justice only data can help solve this problem because no innovation will ever succeed without sound knowledge of its market.
“Based on data, you have a good idea of what the justice needs of citizens are and you can target your limited resources to where they can have the most impact, for the most people,” he said.