Plans are underway to open a High Court in Thika, in efforts to speed up the delivery of justice and to decongest the overloaded Kiambu and Nairobi courts.
Thika Chief Magistrate, Stella Atambo, said plans to deploy a High Court Judge to Thika are on course, despite the infrastructural challenges at the Thika Law Courts.
She said the Judiciary under the Chief Justice, Martha Koome, was keen on bringing justice closer to the people, adding that the reactivation of the Thika High Court Sub-registry that was gazetted in 2016, was long overdue.
Atambo said Thika being a populous industrial town with the biggest number of Magistrates deserves to have a High Court.
She said they will no longer be ferrying files to appeal cases in High Courts in Kiambu and Nairobi.
“The move is a welcome as residents who have appealed their cases will no longer travel to the High court in Kiambu town. It will also ease our work of having to ferry files all the way to the court Kiambu,” Atambo said.
She was speaking after one of the judges who is reportedly set to be posted in Thika, paid her a visit at the Thika courts.
Karanja Kangiri, a prominent Thika lawyer, welcomed the plans saying it is a great milestone and a reprieve to Thika residents who have suffered for long while seeking justice.
He said lawyers will now have ample time for filing appeal cases which they used to file in Nairobi and Kiambu.
“This will not only help speed delivery of justice in appeal cases but also cut costs and time wastage for lawyers who used to travel to High courts in Kiambu and Nairobi, to file appeal cases,” Kangiri said.
By Muoki Charles
