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Chief Justice and President of Supreme Court of Kenya, Justice Martha Koome has commended National Environment Tribunal as a center of excellence in service delivery.
In a statement delivered on her behalf by Registrar of Tribunal in the Judiciary, Ms Ann Asuga, during the awarding ceremony for National Environment Tribunal and NEMA at Michuki Memorial Park, the CJ commended the awardees for “being behind the emergence of NET as a center of excellence in service delivery to be emulated by other tribunals and courts in terms of service delivery”.
The CJ said the award is in recognition of delivery NET’s mandate to serve justice fairly, expeditiously in a cost effective manner urging the awardees to keep up the good work and the work ethics.
During the event NET strategic plan, practice direction, case digest, complaint handling framework were launched. The CJ termed the documents as instruments that will go along way to improve responsiveness to litigants.
The CJ commended the Ministry of Environment and Forestry led by CS Keriako Tobiko for restoration of MMP and likened it to the transformative 2010 Constitution which entrenches sustainable development and the principles of governance for a clean and sustainable environment.
Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary, Keriako Tobiko commended NET and National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) for emerging tops amidst challenges. ” I have tremendous respect and admiration for you, for your professionalism, dedication that goes beyond the call of duty that has led to your recognition”.
Both awards the CS said, are related to service delivery “we are servants of the people and must justify it by offering efficient, urgent, efficacious service delivery to the people.
The CS commended the rank and file, the men and women who are hardly recognized for their time and dedication terming them as the ‘soldiers in the trenches” who work behind the scenes to make service delivery a reality.
National Environment Tribunal was ranked the best in the category of 1000 cases and below with 158% case clearence rate and backlog reduction rate of 65% in the year 2019~2020.
On the other hand NEMA was awarded as Africa’s Environmental Regulator of the year 2022 and DG Mamo Mamo top 50 Public Sector CEO of the year 2022 at the third Africa Public Sector Conference and Awards ceremony in Accra, Ghana.
On overhaul of EMCA the CS said the new legislation currently in the National Assembly will give NEMA the necessary tools including police power to arrest environmental offenders.
Rights of nature, green spaces and urban forests and recognition and protection of human rights defenders, crime of ecocide are some of the progressive provisions under EMCA that WILL bring radical changes in the management of the environment.
The CS said in the international spheres Kenya is a trendsetter where countries continously learn from in terms of best practices, this includes among others working with the Judiciary on rolling out the greening of the judicial system, the first in Africa and the World.
The awarding ceremony was also attended by NET Chairperson Mohammed Balala, NET Secretary, Belinda Akello, Law Society of Kenya Vice President Faith Odhiambo, NEMA Board members led by Chairperson Dr Lul Abdiwahid, NECC board member James Sapuro, KFS Noor Hussein among others.
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