An activist has written a letter to Chief Justice Martha Koome seeking the judiciary to resume open court sessions.
Enock Aura in a letter dated February 24, claims the use of the internet is making Kenyans and court users incur more costs to access court services.
Aura through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui wonders why money should still be allocated for courthouses yet maintain the restrictions.
"Despite the fact that the Judiciary being allocated humongous amounts of taxpayers’ monies to maintain court houses, the courts are largely empty across the country," he states in the letter.
The man faulted Koome for seeking to abolish in-person services in the Judiciary since Covid hit the Country three years ago.
He says that Koome irrationally closed the Courts when she ordered that Court Cases should not be resolved in person but online via the Internet.
"Previously, the in-person Court sessions were closed to the public on the bases of the Covid-19 World Bank Project, but irrationally by your impugned Directive you now have constructively closed the Courts again," he argued.
Aura added that Court users are being forced to spend more money to access justice via the internet, yet the Government is spending taxpayers' money to maintain empty Courtrooms around the Country.
If that is the case, the activist says it would have been more expedient to order the closure of all Court houses in Kenya, to save on taxes.
“Why maintain the oppressive mongrel system of accession justice now in place? You unilaterally published a pamphlet in the Kenya Gazette No. 189 on January 11, 2023 (identified as Practice Directions on standardization of Practice & Procedures in the High Court 2021) were to adopt the total ban of in-person Court sessions, it would clearly attract legal sanction,” says Aura
Aura faults the CJ for gazetting the directions without involving the public.
"Being the Chief Justice of Kenya, and in spite of your clear apprehension of identifying the grave imperatives of the National Values and Principles of Governance under Article 10(2)(a) of the Constitution of Kenya, as read with by Article 232(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, you have violated those imperatives,” says Aura through his lawyer.
He adds that Kenyans have neither been consulted nor have they had their concerns considered in relation to the directives that have effectively trampled on their rights to have a say and participate in the decisions implicating the provision of Judicial Services.
Aura has also faulted the CJ for failing to use the Swahili language in the provision of Judicial services and forcing Court users to use the internet to access justice.
Kinyanjui accuses the CJ of failing to consult Kenyans from all walks of life in a transparent manner before issuing the new Court rules.
He has given CJ Koome seven days to annul the Practice Directions on standardization of Practice & Procedures in the High Court 2021 which was launched early this year.
