• Makadara chief magistrate Hestone Nyaga said the courts will be reopened on August 5.
• Nyaga told court users that all the cases listed for the affected days had been rescheduled per a timetable he provided.
Image: CORAZON WAFULA
The Makadara law courts have been closed for 14 days after three judicial staffers tested positive for the coronavirus
Makadara chief magistrate Hestone Nyaga said Wednesday that the courts will be reopened on August 5.
Nyaga told court users at the premises that all the cases listed for the affected days had been rescheduled per a timetable he provided.
Those who arrived as earlier as 7am returned home, while some of those who wanted to pay bond and cash bail were allowed in.
The Star established that court staffers were advised Tuesday night to stay at home.
“I have been in constant communication with the Judiciary management on the issue of the Covid situation at Makadara, I wish to confirm that the decision to close the courts with immediate effect for the next 14 days has been taken,” read the advisory from Makadara chief magistrate Emily Ominde.
She said that official communication would follow.
Ministry of Health workers who had come to carry out coronavirus testing did not conduct them as the majority of the staffers were not present.
Nyaga said that testing will be carried out on all court users and staffers before they resume in August.
He, however, refused to comment on the status of the sick judicial staffers.
“I am not in a position to comment on that, what is important is that we are closing the court for 14 days and we will resume operations on August 5,” he told the Star.
Johnstone Wandera, a lawyer who had come to check on a client's matter, was disappointed.
"Non-operation of the court station is causing a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. Clients are worried and they keep calling all the time to know what awaits them," he said.
He said that challenges with the transition to online proceedings because of poor connectivity, infrastructure and training in technology are frustrating.
Heman Omunyin, another court user who had come to pay cash bail for his brother, said he had not been allowed in.
"I was only told to wait outside the gate with a promise that I will be assisted but it's now three hours and I am still standing here," he said.
On Friday last week, the court fumigated its premises.
Judiciary chief registrar Anne Amadi in a statement to newsrooms said the court premises will be disinfected during the closure.
Meanwhile, a spot check by the Star revealed that Milimani court users do not observe social distancing rules.
In some courts, judges have to insist on spacing out before they proceed with the matter at hand.
(edited by o. owino)