Kenyan government suspends court hearing to prevent coronavirus

The Kenyan president of the Judiciary, David Maraga, following the government's directive on Sunday said that employees be allowed to work from home due to the global coronavirus pandemic, according to a news report by Daily Nation.

An internal memo sent to the president of the Court of Appeal stated that all principal judges, presiding judges, registrars, and heads of stations and members of the public will not be allowed entry into court premises.

NCAJ PRESS STATEMENT ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN TO MITIGATE COVID-19 IN KENYA'S JUSTICE SECTOR. pic.twitter.com/sybvRHgkjf

— David Maraga (@dkmaraga) March 15, 2020

Only persons visiting courts to file urgent matters will be allowed access, the guidelines say.

He said that remandees would not be brought to courts and cases that were not of high magnitude would be dealt with at the police stations. This would follow guidelines from the inspector general of police. The courts will, however, continue to handle cases of emergency and will take pleas in criminal cases.

Further, Maraga has ordered each court to maintain a skeleton staff of three officers. These will include a court administrator and an assistant, who will handle urgent filings at the customer care desk.

After filing the matters, these officers will be required to inform the judge or magistrate on duty for action

This action has been taken after the government bans all public gatherings and rallies to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Citizens were also urged to observe high-quality hygiene practices and avoid public places especially the crowded places in case one was coughing or sneezing.

Kenya has three coronavirus cases confirmed so far. The head of state announcing this went ahead to give directives to be followed in this wake. He ordered the closure of all learning institutions as well as put a ban on travels into Kenya from countries that had confirmed to be having cases. He also urged organizations to allow workers to work from home where it was applicable.