Nairobi — Chief Justice David Maraga suspended open court sessions in Mombasa on Friday after 11 staff tested positive for coronavirus.
Through a statement to newsrooms, CJ Maraga said the infected persons include judicial officers and registry staff.
The affected courts are the Main Court Building, the City Court and Tononoka Children’s Court.
“11 members of staff at our courts in Mombasa, out of a complement of 150 officers, have tested positive for COVID-19. In view of this we have suspended all open court activities in Mombasa until further notice,” he stated.
CJ Maraga said about 118 officers within the courts who are primary contacts to the infected persons had been identified and will undergo mandatory self quarantine as directed by health ministry officials.
The 11 cases were among 117 new coronavirus infections reported by the Ministry of Health on Friday, raising the country’s toll to 4, 374.
The Judiciary had scaled down its activities in March as part of measures to contain the spread of the virus, but later issued guidelines for gradual resumption of open courts.
Following appeals from the Law Society of Kenya and increased backlog of cases, courts started to resume normal operations on Monday guided by social distancing protocols.
