NAIROBI, Kenya — The Judiciary has announced that it will conduct an institution-wide employee census on Thursday, October 30, in an effort to strengthen accountability, enhance data integrity, and streamline human resource management.
Chief Justice Martha Koome said the exercise underscores the Judiciary’s commitment to transparency and efficient administration.
“The Judiciary has, over the years, embraced a culture of proactive and continuous improvement in its operations, with a strong commitment to maintaining the integrity of its institutional data,” Koome said in a statement on Thursday morning.
She added that the census will help generate accurate and reliable information to support decision-making across all court stations and administrative units. According to the Judiciary, the exercise will enhance human capital management, enable staff rationalisation, and ensure optimal resource allocation.
Officials noted that the initiative aligns with the Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ) blueprint, which seeks to modernize the Judiciary’s institutional systems. “This census represents a continuation of reform efforts aimed at enhancing transparency and efficiency in our operations,” Koome added.
The Judiciary has assured the public that the process will be conducted with minimal disruption to court activities. “Court users, advocates, and the general public can expect normal operations to continue during the exercise,” a statement from the Office of the Chief Registrar said.
This is not the first time the Judiciary has embarked on such a review. A similar employee verification exercise in 2018 was credited with improving institutional planning and accountability.
In 2021, the Judiciary also invited the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to conduct a systems audit of its operations, policies, and practices, focusing on enhancing integrity safeguards.
Comparable audits have been carried out by other state agencies, including the Public Service Commission (PSC), Teachers Service Commission (TSC), and National Police Service Commission (NPSC), as part of nationwide public sector reforms aimed at eradicating payroll fraud and improving efficiency.
The new census comes months after a report by the Auditor General, released in July 2025, flagged possible cases of ghost workers in the Judiciary. The audit noted that the institution’s reported staff complement had grown from 6,014 in the 2022–2023 financial year to 8,330 in 2023–2024 — an increase of 2,316 employees.
However, only 136 new contracts were documented, leaving an unexplained variance of 2,180 personnel whose employment status could not be verified.
The report recommended a comprehensive audit of the Judiciary’s payroll and human resource records to determine the legitimacy of the figures.
Analysts say the upcoming census signals the Judiciary’s determination to restore public confidence and reinforce its credibility as an independent institution.
As the Judiciary embarks on the exercise, it remains under scrutiny from oversight agencies and the public to ensure that transparency reforms translate into measurable institutional change.
