Samwel Gichure listens from Nakuru GK Prisons as Senior Resident Magistrate Yvonne Khatambi reads out the sentence through a video link on Thursday. The magistrate sentenced him to three years imprisonment. [Daniel Chege,Standard]

The reopening of courts with no video links to hear criminal appeals will not take place as scheduled. Instead, the Judiciary will have to wait a little bit longer for the government to inspect its facilities on whether Covid-19 security measures are in place before up-scaling operations.

In a bid to protect judges, magistrates, lawyers and litigants from the risk of coronavirus infection, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives globally, the Judiciary invited the Ministry of Health to conduct the exercise in all its stations and come up with guidelines on measures to be put in place.

In a memo to judges presiding over different levels of courts, Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi has directed the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and National Committee on Administration of Justice (NCAJ) to invite the health officials with a view of seeking advice on infection prevention and control measures to be observed in courts.

This also includes registries where documents are filed and waiting bays that are used by litigants and lawyers as they wait to be served.

Video link

NCAJ, chaired by Chief Justice David Maraga, had resolved on Wednesday that criminal appeals, in stations with no video link, be heard in open court from April 22, subject to compliance with the guidelines of the MOH.

The committee also agreed that operations in all registries be scaled up from April 21 with a limited number of staff to serve court users and all suspects be taken to court within 24 hours of arrest.

In Nairobi, a sub-committee of the NCAJ is expected to come up with guidelines on how case hearings and appeals shall be conducted. The sub-committee is to also come up with a plan on how matters that were scheduled to be heard between March 16 and April 22, a period courts reduced their operations, are to be dealt with.

However, hearing of criminal appeals by the High Court and Court of Appeal are to be scaled up and proceed through modalities to be agreed upon by the judge, Director of Public Prosecutions, appellants or their advocates plus prison authorities.