A phased reopening of the Makadara Law Courts is underway after a two-week closure following the fatal shooting of Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti.
Chief Justice Martha Koome outlined measures to be implemented before the courts reopened to the public on Monday for plea-taking.
The reopening will occur in four phases, starting with trauma counselling for judicial staff and magistrates affected by the incident.
From June 24 to June 26, professional counsellors will lead individual and group counselling sessions as part of these measures.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Building Services will be dismantling and removing the makeshift structures at the courts.
The second phase will involve a meeting of the Court Users Committee (CUC) to discuss the modalities of resuming court operations and review the immediate security measures put in place to facilitate this.
The CUC will provide guidance on hearing modalities and advise on the suitability of virtual hearings. This meeting will take place on Thursday, June 27.
On Friday, June 28, the station will reorganize the court diaries to assign new dates and implement the CUC’s recommendations on resuming court operations before reopening on July 1.
Only secured and fit-for-purpose courtrooms will be used for plea-taking.
“Pursuant to the resolutions of the CUC, the Head of Station will issue a notice with new dates for cases affected during the suspension period. This will also include directions on mention dates, payment of cash bail, and guidance on virtual hearings for pending matters,” Justice Koome directed.
The measures will include thorough searches to ensure no one accesses the courtrooms with firearms, mandatory wearing of name tags and identification by litigants, and restricted parking at the judicial premises.
At the same time, each court station must implement measures to restrict access to judges’ and magistrates’ chambers, ensure adequate deployment of staff and ICT equipment at the customer care desk, and make infrastructural security adjustments.
“The Judiciary Leadership Team, the HR Directorate, the Building, Infrastructure & Development Committee, and the Judiciary Security Management Committee will, in addition to these short-term measures, work with other agencies to implement comprehensive long-term security measures to ensure the safety and well-being of all judges, judicial officers, staff, and court users,” added Justice Koome.
