Acting Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu has announced that the Meru Law Courts will be temporarily closed for seven days following a reported case of the coronavirus.
In a statement, Mwilu said that a staffer at the Meru court succumbed to Covid-19 related health complications on Sunday evening.
The affected staff member worked in the Civil Registry of the High Court at Meru that has a staff contingent of 12.
Mwilu said that Civil Registry is a busy registry with a high volume of file movement and extensive interactions between staff, as well as between staff and clients and court users.
“There is a high probability that there was general interaction with the affected person and justifiable apprehension as to the potential for exposure and the spread of the virus,” Mwilu said.
She added that the Presiding Judge of the High Court at Meru held an urgent Courts User’s Committee (CuC) meeting on Monday morning and their recommendations were that the court station is temporarily closed with immediate effect.
“…we have arrived at the considered decision to temporarily close Meru Law Courts for a period of seven (7) days from today. The closure will enable personnel at the station to undergo a mass testing exercise scheduled for March 15, 2021, and facilitate a fumigation exercise scheduled for March 16, 2021.”
The closure will also enable any affected personnel to quarantine in adherence to Ministry of Health Covid-19 protocols and contribute towards breaking the chain of transmission.
During the period of closure, all urgent matters for the Magistrates’ Courts at Meru Law Courts shall be directed to Githongo, Tigania, and Nkubu Law Courts.
All urgent matters for the ELC at Meru shall be directed to the ELC at Embu. All urgent matters for the High Court at Meru shall be directed to the High Courts at Embu and Nanyuki.
The Acting CJ has expressed her condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased.
