The Kibera law courts in the middle of the Kibera slums is a dangerous place to work. Magistrates' cars have been blocked, no one goes out to lunch for fear of violence.
At the centre of one of Africa's largest informal settlements, the court is surrounded by shanties and people in the high-crime area who have no love for the law.
Every day magistrates get about 20 new cases. They see grievous harm involving knives, pangas and other crude weapons. They see battered women, violence inflicted over debts, bludgeonings and murder over adultery and unrequited love.
Naturally, there's theft in an impoverished settlement.
Painfully, there's sexual violence, rape, defilement and incest. Sometimes minors testify. On some days, sex crimes are the majority.
Some cases make big headlines, such as the arraignment of Migori Governor Okoth Obado over illegal gun possession, and the arraignment of the owner of Precious Talent Academy on eight counts of manslaughter.
Some cases are so petty — like a stolen chicken — that magistrates turn them down, ordering people to make their own peace.
The court has eight courtrooms, nine magistrates, several clerks, prosecutors and other officials. There's a Khadi's court as well for resolution of limited issues involving Islamic law.
Access is difficult for magistrates, staff and the public.
“I was driving my car when a cart puller blocked my way, he did it intentionally as he observed what I would so he could act," senior principal magistrate Esther Boke told the Star.
“During the previous election, I was in my office. What made me panic was that I realised I was the only one there and I requested protection from the Kilimani police boss,” she said.
“One day when I was driving home from work when youths blocked my vehicle and I had to wait for some time to be allowed to pass. Kibera youth are very rude at times,” a woman magistrate said.
No one goes out for lunch, it would be too dangerous. Magistrates bring their lunches from home or buy from the lady selling lunch.
As the courts are surrounded by poor households, many residents make illegal hookups to the court's electricity. The same transformer used by the court is also used by the slum dwellers.
Most residents inflate the bills and we pay abnormally high bills after residents connect to the court's electricity.
“We require our own transformer so we can do away with these losses that slum residents cause us,” chief magistrate Joyce Gandi said.
The best news is a Sh138 million expansion including a High Court is nearing completion. It will be easy to make appeals against magistrates' rulings. It will accommodate more cases, more magistrates and judges.
Suspects and complainants will not have to travel all the way to the Milimani law courts to file an appeal. Two judges will be transferred to Kibera early next year to hear serious cases such as murder and appeals.
Kibera senior executive officer Josephine Kamau has also made changes, hastening the workflow and reducing the case backlog due to active prosecutions.
Most prosecutors declined to speak to the Star but the few who did said they do their best in difficult circumstances.
“We come here as early as 7am. We try to do our best to complete cases on time for the sake of justice for these residents, though some people continue to brand us as bad people," one prosecutor said.
He said what's most disturbing is the officers who fail to avail the police files “but you can see yourself how we have completed more and more cases on time".
(Edited by V. Graham)
