Kenyans search for justice goes digital
You may no longer have to appear in court to have your case heard and determined, thanks to a new technology rolled out by the Judiciary.
This week alone, three Court of Appeal judges have heard applications from the comfort of their chambers in Nairobi as the litigants follow the proceedings from the Mombasa law courts.
This follows the introduction of the virtual courts, which enables a judge sitting in one town to hear and rule on cases using video conference as the litigants watch and listen in another court hundreds of kilometres away.
Launching the Judiciary ICT Policy and Strategic Plan 2011-2013 at the High Court, Nairobi Thursday, Chief Justice Evan Gicheru observed that the new technology will go a long way in reducing the time cases are heard and determined.
The new technology, already being applied at the Appellate Court on a pilot basis, before being extended to the High Court and the lower courts, will also save judges and lawyers the time and financial cost they incur travelling to make court appearances.
“Virtual Courts will enable litigants to appear before a judge via video conference without having to appear in person,” said the CJ.
The first virtual court hearing took place on Tuesday when Court of Appeal judge Moijo Ole Keiwua heard and ruled on an application through video conference as the litigants watched from the Mombasa law court.
On Wednesday, it was the turn of another appellate judge, Justice Philip Waki to hear and rule on an application using the same technology to the litigants seated at the Mombasa law courts.
The CJ and senior judicial officers joined Justice Alnashir Visram of the same court in a virtual court as he heard and ruled on yet another application filed in a Mombasa court as the litigants and their lawyers followed the proceedings from the coastal town.
The virtual courts concept is borrowed from the Supreme Court of Ethiopia, which has effectively employed it to deliver justice expeditiously.
Speaking during the launch, Justice Gicheru advised lawyers to embrace the new technology as it not only ensures the swift delivery of justice but is also cheap.
Using the system, judges will no longer have to take notes as the parties to the case make their submissions because a stenographer fitted in the courts is able to record and reproduce the submissions verbatim in a matter of seconds.
Speaking at the function, Justice Waki, who heads the judiciary ICT committee, said the virtual courts will save judges and lawyers a lot of time and resources which they use in travelling long distances to appear in courts.
Justice Waki announced that already, seven million court files have already been reproduced from hard to soft copy. The judiciary hopes to have 30 million files converted into soft copy in the next few months, the judge stated.
The high court registrar, Lydia Achode announced that plans were underway to introduce a system where litigants will be able to follow the progress of their cases by simply sending a short text message to a given number to get updated.
“We are already working on the SMS solution and we expect it to be available in the next one month,” she said.
