How Florence Kajuju has revolutionized the Office of the Ombudsman

Florence Kajuju is the Chairperson of the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman) and has been the 2nd Ombudsman of the Republic of Kenya since August 2018.

She had previously served as the Woman Member of Parliament for Meru County and she is also the President of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) African Chapter, a position she was elected to on the 9th of November 2021.

As one of the high ranking advocates in Kenya,it was not surprising that she was also appointed  the Secretary General of the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association (AOMA) in 2018.

She also serves as a Board Member to the African Ombudsman Research Centre (AORC) based at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban, South Africa. She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with over 26 years of experience on the Bar. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts, Leadership and Governance degree at Mount Kenya University and holds an LLB degree from the University of Nairobi. Prior to her appointment as the Chairperson of the Commission on Administrative Justice, Hon. Florence Kajuju served as a Woman Member Kenya National Assembly Meru County in the 11th Parliament. She participated in the constitution making process as the Vice Chairperson Law Society of Kenya (LSK) for which she was recognized and awarded the Moran of the Burning Spear…

The Commission on Administrative Justice-Office of the Ombudsman, is Constitutional Commission Established Under Article 59(4) of the Constitution, And The Commission On Administrative Justice Act, 2011.

The Commission’s major role is to among other things Investigate complaints of delay, abuse of power and unfair treatment.

It also has the mandate of overseeing and enforcing the implementation of the Access to Information Act, 2016.

It is also obligated to work with different public institutions to promote alternative dispute resolution methods in the resolution of complaints relating to public administration, recommend compensation or other appropriate remedies against persons or bodies.

 It is also empowered to provide advisory opinions or proposals on improvement of public administration, including review of legislation, codes of conduct, processes and procedures.

What has Kajuju done?

The commission under Kajuju has worked on plans  to help counties establish the office of the County Governments’ Administrative Ombudsman.

In March this year,Kajuju said the commission had made notable strides in ensuring that counties achieve this goal, adding the commission had already established a grievance redress mechanism policy that will support the devolved units to establish the office.

This according to her is in line with schedule four of the 2010 Constitution on the devolution of services in counties adding the said office will enable citizens to launch various complaints in counties to ensure quality service delivery.

In July, the commission opened the lead on the rot at the immigration office in relation to issuance of passports.

Kajuju who appeared before the Senate National Security and Defence committee called on  the Principal Secretary State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services to audit the National Database Registration Authority system for the period of 2021-2023 in order to identify all passport applicants whose excess payments had not been refunded.

This is after the commission undertook an investigation into allegations that the Department of Immigration was overcharging citizens for passports.

This would later be confirmed by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki who revealed that the passport backlog reported at 42,000 on May 31 may have been understated.

Kindiki said this when he provided an update on the status of passport issuance in the country that a further audit of the system estimated the backlog to be approximately 120,000 applications.

Kindiki attributed the backlog to a combination of factors, including the lack of adequate resources and the presence of corrupt elements within the Immigration department.

Apart from that, the commission under Kajuju has been able to unveil a public portal of the Complaints Management information System (CMIS).

The system enables the public to appeal or complain against the delay of government services, abuse of power, access to information and track complaint resolution progress online.

One of the most recent active activities of the commission is when it teamed up with other stakeholders to form  a multi-sectorial committee that begun a fact-finding mission in the Mau ecosystem and forest in Nakuru County with regard to the Ogiek Community,

The indigenous community has been seeking implementation of the African Court’s decision that the Kenyan government grants the Ogiek people a collective title deed and compensation.

About The Author