Courts in Nyamira, Kisii remain closed two years after their 'opening'
A deserted Manga Law Courts compound in Nyamira county. The courts remain closed two years after they were officially opened by former Chief Justice David Maraga.
What you need to know:
- At the Manga courts in Kitutu Masaba constituency, grass and bushes are overgrown.
- The Law Society of Kenya has pleaded with the judiciary to post magistrates and other judiciary staff.
- Advocate Wilkins Ochoki said there was a backlog of cases due to a lack of enough judiciary personnel in Kisii and Nyamira counties.
The Manga, Etago and Borabu Law courts in Nyamira and Kisii counties remain closed two years after they were officially opened by former Chief Justice David Maraga.
At the Manga courts in Kitutu Masaba constituency, grass and bushes are overgrown and the environment there does not depict the status of an office.
The offices and the surrounding area are generally deserted. There is no one manning the gate for security purposes. The metallic gate is also covered with rust.
At the Borabu Law courts in Borabu constituency, the situation is better because the compound there is shared with other offices.
Though it is not clear how much money was spent to renovate the offices before officially opening them, sources say that millions of shillings were used.
At Etago in South Mugirango, the former Chief Justice said it will be headed by Senior Resident Magistrate Paul Wechuli.
Mr Maraga said the magistrate had the responsibility of operationalising the court with immediate effect.
But that was not to be, the magistrate later left and the courts are now closed.
Ease burden
The Law Society of Kenya has pleaded with the judiciary to post magistrates and other judiciary staff to the two law courts which were meant to ease the burden on Nyamira, Ogembo, Keroka and Kisii Law courts.
Advocate Wilkins Ochoki said there was a backlog of cases due to a lack of enough judiciary personnel in Kisii and Nyamira counties.
“We still don’t have a high court judge in Nyamira after Judge Esther Maina was transferred sometime back. In Kisii, Judge Rose Ougo is set to be transferred on October 2, 2022, and there is still no word about her replacement,” said Mr Ochoki.
A deserted Manga Law Courts compound in Nyamira county. Manga court which was re-launched by the former CJ is among the oldest in the Gusii region and was used during the pre and post-colonial times but has not been in use for years.
Mr Ochoki who is a former Law Society of Kenya South West Nyanza region chair said locals are forced to travel long distances in search of judiciary services, which should not be the case.
“The new three law courts in Kisii and Nyamira were meant to reduce the distance travelled by those in search of judicial services. Sadly, our problems remain,” said Mr Ochoki.
In Etago for example, residents who are currently served by the Ogembo Court station have to travel for about 30 kilometres to get judiciary services.
The new court was to serve two sub-counties, Gucha South and Etago. They share boundaries with both Narok and Migori counties.
The area is expansive and the furthest police station from Etago is Nyamaiya Police Station which is 20 kilometres away.
The cases from Nyamaiya end up at Ogembo, which is a distance of 50 kilometres.
Re-launched
Manga court which was re-launched by the former CJ is among the oldest in the Gusii region and was used during the pre and post-colonial times but has not been in use for years.
The original Manga Ritongo Law Court was one of the earliest courts that served the African people in Gusii during the colonial era.
While opening the courts, Mr Maraga said the three courts were among 20 new stations gazetted across the country at the time.
The judiciary intended to have a High Court station in each of the 47 counties and a magistrate’s court in each of the 290 sub-counties in the country.
Chief Justice Martha Koome has in the past expressed the need to have more judges in the country, saying there is a big shortage which is hindering service delivery.
