Suspects to be arraigned in court within 24hrs- CJ David Maraga says as he issues new directive

Suspects to be arraigned in court within 24hrs- CJ Maraga

Mumbi Mutuko

April 16, 2020 1:55 PM

Chief Justice David Maraga has stated that suspects facing the law will be arraigned in courts within 24 hours.

Chief Justice David Maraga

In a statement issued on Thursday the CJ stated that court activities will be scaled up from April 22 after reviews on the Covid-19 situation in the country.

The announcement comes a month after the judiciary announced they will be scaling down on activities as Kenyan pushed for social distancing to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

CJ Maraga stated that some appeals will be heard via video link and where not applicable in open court but with all parties following guidelines by the Ministry of Health.

Chief Justice David Maraga Chief Justice David Maraga ece-auto-gen

"Operations shall be scaled up effective April 21. The Chief Registrar of the Judiciary shall liaise with the Ministry of Health and Heads of Stations to ensure adequate measures are put in place," the statement read in part.

This comes a month after the CJ had issued guidelines on court operations across the country.

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

Court guidelines in wake of coronavirus

The only persons allowed to visit the courts were those who had to file urgent matters.

“Heads of stations are hereby directed to inform security personnel accordingly and issue notices to that effect,'' the memo read.

File image of Chief Justice David Maraga Pulse Live Kenya

CJ Maraga directed each court to maintain a skeleton staff of three officers who included; a court administrator and an assistant, who will handle urgent filings at the customer care desk.

He also ordered that each High Court station will have only one duty judge and one magistrate in each of the lower courts.

Mumbi Mutuko