Lawyers in Eldoret took to the streets in protest on Monday for what they termed as  shortage of judges and magistrates .

The legal practitioners locked down the Eldoret high court  in protest with members accusing the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and CJ David Maraga of failure to address the crisis.

North Rift Laws Society of Kenya (LSK) chapter chairman Zephaniah Yego said that judges have been transferred without replacements, which has grounded operations at the courts.

“The advocates are protesting the manner in which the station has been treated. Judges are transferred without replacement. All we have received are empty promises,” said Yego .

Justices George Kimondo, Cecilia Githua and Daniel Ogembo were recently transferred from the Eldoret courts, which were ranked top on having the highest number of pending cases.

“Over 4,000 cases are pending in courts in this town due to lack of judges and magistrates,” He Said.

The advocates also decried the poor state of courts, saying the court rooms are too small and hardly enough for occupant and most of the times people are forced to follow proceedings from the windows.

COURT OF APPEAL SHORTAGE OF JUDGES

Last month, the president of the Court of Appeal said the appellate court is grappling with a shortage of judges, which is affecting service delivery countrywide.

Court of Appeal President William Ouko on Wednesday said that after the appointment of Chief Justice David Maraga and his deputy Philomena Mwilu to the Supreme Court, their positions at the Court of Appeal have not yet been filled.