The Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board is training judicial officers countrywide on recording court proceedings, a senior official has said.
Board vice chairperson Roseline Odede said many magistrates did not possess basic writing skills, which is a huge hindrance to their writing of judgments.
Speaking during a training session for journalists and community-based organisations in Nakuru, Odede said poor writing skills among some officers may lead to wrong interpretation of court files.
“It is simply horrible. One struggles to understand what message is being communicated,” Odede said.
“Issues of grammar and how the story flows have come up and pose a huge challenge. In some cases, an entire passage does not flow or the words are not in sync,” she said.
Odede said the judiciary had embarked on training sessions for magistrates to help them write better rulings.
“We have had problems trying to read and understand some rulings. We have a standard writing guideline for judgments but in some cases it is not followed,” she added.
Ngotho wa Kariuki, a member of the vetting board, admitted that poor handwriting also affects the process of analysing and synthesising information.
“We need cases of coherent and admissible judgments that every Kenyan can understand,” he said.