Koome flags alarming SGBV in Bungoma; Judiciary weighs dedicated registry
Key points
- CJ Martha Koome said SGBV levels in Bungoma and the wider Western region are alarming and devastating families.
- She spoke to LSK members and the Bungoma Court Users Committee, calling for a whole-of-society response.
- Judiciary will consider a dedicated SGBV registry at Bungoma courts to fast-track cases and cut re-traumatisation.
- Koome urged CUCs to prioritise prevention partnerships that ease pressure on courts and prisons.
“The prevalence of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence is alarming, and its impact on families and communities demands a whole-of-society response,” Chief Justice Martha Koome told Law Society of Kenya members and the Bungoma Court Users Committee, Eastleigh Voice reported.
The warning is geographically pointed: Bungoma and the wider Western region, not a generic national slogan. Koome framed rising reported SGBV caseloads as a justice-system and community failure at once — courts alone cannot absorb trauma without prevention, investigation quality and survivor support keeping pace.
What the Judiciary says it will try next
Koome reaffirmed a commitment to timely justice for survivors and said the Judiciary will consider establishing a dedicated SGBV registry at the Bungoma courts. The design goal is practical: shorter paths through filing and listing, fewer adjournments that force victims to retell the same facts, and less administrative churn that retraumatises complainants.
She also pressed Court Users Committees to deepen collaboration across police, prosecution, probation, health and community actors. Prevention, in her framing, protects people and reduces the load on remand cells and trial diaries — a dual pitch that courts and county executives can both own.
What success would look like in public numbers
Registry pilots only matter if they publish time-to-first-hearing, conviction rates with due process, and survivor drop-off rates. LSK chapters and county gender desks should demand those metrics within one court calendar year, not only ribbon photos of a new registry desk.
National desk: Kenya News. Verified: Koome’s Bungoma/Western warning, LSK–CUC audience, whole-of-society language, proposed Bungoma SGBV registry for fast-tracking. Implementation timelines and staffing remain outstanding operational questions in 2026.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of CJ Koome’s remarks. Court circulars control any registry launch details.
