Kiambu Chief Magistrate has promised people with cases in court that they would be briefed after every two weeks to enable them attend to their other chores instead of waiting indefinitely outside the law court.
Ms. Patriciah Gichohi gave the directive to the litigants and scores of people who jammed the court to follow up on their pending cases in various courts.
She however clarified to the public that owing to the prevailing pandemic that had changed the way of conducting business in all the institutions, “there will be no admission of the public in the court premises for the time being” until further notice
Some of those affected told the magistrate that they were traversing into the interior of the county to follow up on their cases hence spending huge sums of money which did not come by easily.
“We spend so much money travelling to follow up on the cases and when we arrive here, we find that the specific court is not sitting,” Moses Kariuki told the chief magistrate during the briefing session held at the law courts.
After consulting with the people who appeared co-operative, it was agreed that they would get the next brief on May 25, 2020. This information would be placed at the gate of the institution where all members of the public shall be able to view so that they know when their case was being finalized.
In a notice to the civilians dated 11th May 2020, the Chief Magistrate notified all the litigants and advocates with pending hearings and mentions of civil and succession cases that the Courts were putting their house in order to ensure that they are served accordingly. “Kindly note that we are putting in place appropriate technology through the Microsoft teams for handling the same,” the notice read in part.
She said matters coming under certificate of urgency and the time bound pleadings would be filed online on a daily basis which shall be displayed in a fortnight.
Ms. Gichohi stated that a list shall be posted showing pending judgements or rulings of civil and succession cases in respective court premises and the date of delivery but not later than 30th May 2020. She added that several judgements and rulings were delivered online last week from 4th May.
The Chief Magistrate however alerted the parties that there would be a judicial officer and skeleton staff on duty each day to handle any urgent matters.
The officers were identified as Jane Irungu (0797306016) the Court administrator of the Lower court, Margaret Mutuku (0202690057) the High Court Administrator and Mr. Simon Rading (0770176280) the Deputy Registrar, while communication through e-mail could also be done to kiambucourt@court.go.ke.
Ms. Gichohi further notified the public that in order to expedite disposal of cases during this period, “we are receiving in soft copy submissions filed online through the above email and in reply “we send you the assessment of the fees, then a scanned copy of payment receipts is sent to us. We print, do the filing and then give you a date of ruling or judgement as the case may be.
She said payments could be made through KCB-Kiambu Branch Act. No. 1197860460, or M-pesa services fees only Paybill No. 522537. The court code is 7325 followed by case number.
She added that in case of any difficulty, the clients could call the officers of the respective courts for assistance during working hours of 8.00pm to 5.00pm.
By Lydia Shiloya
Kiambu Court to appraise litigants fortnightly
