A political firestorm is brewing in the United Kingdom over a controversial proposal to eliminate jury trials for most criminal cases, a move Justice Secretary David Lammy insists is necessary to tackle a crippling "courts emergency." The plan, which would reserve juries for only the most severe offences like murder and rape, has drawn sharp criticism but casts a revealing light on a problem Kenyan citizens know all too well: justice delayed is justice denied.

The proposal aims to slash a staggering backlog of nearly 80,000 cases in England and Wales, which Lammy warns could surpass 100,000 by 2028 without radical intervention. "The system we inherited has pushed the justice system to the brink of collapse," Lammy stated, emphasizing the years-long waits victims endure. To support this overhaul, his office has pledged £550 million (approx. KES 94 billion) over three years for victim and witness support.

However, leading barristers and legal groups have accused the government of creating a space for "further miscarriages of justice," arguing that the right to a trial by one's peers is a cornerstone of a fair legal system.

A Familiar Crisis

While the proposed solution is drastic, the underlying crisis resonates deeply in Kenya. The Kenyan Judiciary has been grappling with its own significant backlog, with pending cases rising to over 649,000 in the 2023/24 fiscal year. Perennial underfunding, consistently below 1% of the national budget against a recommended 3%, has been cited by Chief Justice Martha Koome as a primary obstacle to efficiency and hiring adequate staff.

The UK and Kenyan situations highlight a shared global challenge for judicial systems. Key aspects of the UK proposal include:

• Reserving jury trials exclusively for top-tier offences like murder, rape, and manslaughter.
• Allowing judge-only trials for offences that would result in prison sentences of five years or less.
• Creating a new, intermediate tier of court to handle these less severe cases.

In contrast, Kenya's reform efforts have focused on different strategies. Under the "Social Transformation through Access to Justice" (STAJ) blueprint, the Judiciary has expanded the use of technology and alternative dispute resolution. Initiatives like the Small Claims Courts have seen explosive growth, resolving over 155,000 cases in the 2024/25 fiscal year with a 98% clearance rate, demonstrating a powerful model for expediting justice for ordinary citizens.

As the UK debates a move that could fundamentally reshape its justice system, Kenya's experience offers a different perspective. The critical question remains whether the path to timely justice lies in limiting historic rights or in innovating and investing in systems that serve the people more effectively.