- JSC says court inspections have been done across the country by Health ministry officials and reports compiled.
- Judiciary is procuring sanitising booths which will be necessary in some traffic courts.
Image: EUTYCAS MUCHIRI
The Judiciary is working on plans to upscale court sittings.
Judicial Service Commission vice chair Mercy Deche on Thursday said in the coming one or two weeks, staff should expect to return to work.
She spoke to lawyers in a webinar hosted by the Law Society of Kenya Kisumu chapter to discuss access of justice during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deche explained that court inspections had been done across the country by Health ministry officials and reports compiled.
She said the Judiciary had received 30 reports which were passed on to different court station heads to discuss with court users committees, lawyers and members of the bench on modes of returning to work.
Where the stations require any kind of assistance in form of face masks or sanitiser they reach out to the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, she explained.
The Judiciary is procuring sanitising booths which will be necessary in some traffic courts such as Milimani in Nairobi.
Deche praised the Court of Appeal for its adoption of technology even among Kenyans who do not have access to internet to attend court hearings.
The appeals court set aside one courtroom at the Supreme Court building equipped with Wi-Fi, screens and microphones which enabled litigants who did not have internet access.
The Court of Appeal tasked a staff to call those litigants on their phones and invite them for hearings with judges working from home.
Using that mode the court concluded 15 cases filed by litigants who did not have lawyers to represent them.
The Supreme Court, too, has been able to use technology smoothly to dispense justice.
Judge Isaac Lenaola explained that the technology worked well for the apex court because of so many advantages it has over other courts.
First, the court is small and has very few cases and since inception embraced online filing of cases which helped judges to get well versed with use of technology.
Second, Lenaola said, was the fact that there were no litigants who represented themselves before the court unlike in the lower courts, so they did not have to worry about a party not having access to the internet during hearings.
However, the Judiciary has had its share of challenges conducting remote court sessions mainly because of connectivity difficulties in the Supreme Court building and lack of adequate IT personnel.
Deche said the ICT ministry seconded 70 personnel to the Judiciary to help it run smoothly.
She said the Judiciary planned to continue with use of technology even post-Covid-19.
Edited by Henry Makori