Work on new law courts in Mombasa set to start

Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi at work on August 17, 2017. The Judiciary will start construction of new courts in Mombasa. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Members of public will use digital technology to monitor progress of their cases instead of relying on court clerks.

Construction of a Sh445 million modern law courts in Mombasa funded by the World Bank is set to start.

The project stalled six years ago after the plot was grabbed by a Mombasa businessman, resulting in a protracted dispute.

The National Lands Commission (NLC) and the Ministry of Lands have since returned the 1.477-hectare plot to the Judiciary.

TIMELINE
On Monday, Mombasa Chief Magistrate Evans Makori told a gathering of lawyers, civil society and members of the public, during launch of this year’s Law Society of Kenya legal Awareness Week, that work has started and the building will be ready within 18 months.

Last week, Judiciary Performance Improvement Project team, Mombasa Resident Judge Erick Ogolla and LSK branch officials led by chairman Benjamin Njoroge handed over the project to Bashash contractors. 

TECHNOLOGY
The four-storey building, to be named Justice Tower, will house all divisions of the High Court and lower courts that are presently located in various buildings scattered across the county.

“The Chief Justice will soon be visiting us to do the ground-breaking. Once completed, Justice Tower will have more technology based courts that will be delivering justice through Information Communication Technology (ICT),” Mr Makori said.

He also indicated that members of public will use digital technology to monitor progress of their cases instead of relying on court clerks and lawyers for updates.