This archive report was first published on 20 December 2019.
The Court of Appeal has been forced to suspend its sittings outside Nairobi due to a severe shortage of judges.
According to President of the Court of Appeal Justice William Ouko, the move will take effect from January 13, 2020, the date of commencement of the court's new term.
As of January 13, 2020, judges in Mombasa and Kisumu will relocate to Nairobi, with the affected court stations, including Nyeri, to be served from Nairobi through circuit sessions conducted once a month to each station.
Justice Ouko explained that at the time of decentralization, there were 27 judges with three deployed to each station in Malindi, Kisumu, and Nyeri, while the rest (18) remained in Nairobi due to the heavy caseload.
However, the number of judges has gradually shrunk to 15 following the retirement of several judges, appointment of others to higher government offices, and the sudden death of Justice James Otieno Odek.
As a result, the sittings at the Nyeri Court of Appeal were suspended indefinitely in August due to a shortage of judges, with only two judges remaining in Nyeri after Justice GBM Kariuki retired and was not replaced.
