The Judiciary Chief Registrar (CR), Anne Amadi has said the Judiciary will hire 50 Magistrates in the current financial year to address the backlog occasioned by the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the Kakamega law courts on Tuesday while on an inspection tour of a new modern High Court facility under construction, Amadi said the judiciary is awaiting the swearing-in of new judges by President Uhuru Kenyatta to assist in expediting cases.
The CR said another mission of the tour was to ensure that courts are complying with the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health to contain the coronavirus.
“I have ascertained that the court is complying with measures aimed at safeguarding staff and the pubic against Covid-19, including avoiding crowding in the courtroom and observing the social distancing rule,” said she.
She said that the judiciary is encouraging the use of virtual platforms to conduct hearings to avoid putting Judges and Magistrates in the danger of getting infected by the virus through physical contact.
The new court building is 95 per cent complete just awaiting the installation of ICT equipment before it is commissioned for use.
By Sammy Mwibanda/Remigius Maloba
