Monica Kivuti shooting: Armoury among Judiciary's new measures to secure Makadara Law Courts

The Judiciary is working with the police to set up an armoury at the Makadara Law Courts to ensure armed security officers not based at the courts surrender their firearms before entering.

This is among the preliminary safety measures to ensure the maximum security of the judiciary staff and service seekers before the court is reopened next Monday.

The court was temporarily closed last Thursday after Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti was shot several times while in her seat inside her makeshift courtroom. She died two days later at the Nairobi Hospital intensive care unit, where she had been taken for specialised care.

Chief Judiciary Registrar Winfrida Mokaya said she visited the court on Monday accompanied by the Judiciary Police Unit (JPU) commander Samwel Ndung'u and Chief Inspector Japheth Ochoro, the officer commanding police at the Makadara Law Courts, to assess the security situation.

Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu pays her respects during the Judiciary's nation day of mourning Makadara Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti, at the Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi, on June 18, 2024. (Photo: Judiciary)

Mokaya said they agreed on some short-term and long-term measures to make the facility secure and usable again.

"We, as the Judiciary, are committed to fast-tracking the revival and completion of the boundary wall and sentry area, which will be fortified to act as a security centre," she said.

"We have agreed with the Directorate of Building Services to immediately begin to convert the security building into an armoury, relocate guards to create a new pedestrian entrance with a body scanning area, and come up with a new exit gate for pedestrians and motor vehicles."

Other renovations are blocking access to the cells using a gate and a steel barrier, repairing a leak in the roof of the cells, and replacing the broken registry window panes.

Police officers privy to the work told The Eastleigh Voice that the sentry will have a steel box where police officers escorting suspects to the court and others attending to various duties will keep their firearms.

This means only police officers accredited as security providers at the court, and designated as its orderlies, will get in with firearms.

Mourners are pictured at the Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi on June 18, 2024, on the Judiciary's national day of mourning Makadara Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti. (Photo: Judiciary)

Firearms brought to the court as exhibits will be surrendered to the orderlies, who will take them to respective courts before returning them to investigating officers upon their discharge after proceedings.

Mokaya said her office has assembled and analysed several first reports on security, with several useful recommendations, but noted that actualisation is pending due to inadequate funding.

"Cognisant of the centrality of security, we must now realise our priorities accordingly. As we embark on a long-term, robust security framework for the entire judiciary, we have instructed the courts to implement certain immediate security realignments within their current means," she said.

"No judicial services shall be offered from makeshift structures. We are currently ascertaining the nature and number of makeshift structures within our court stations as well as the number of  officers who operate from such temporary setups."

Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Justice Martha Koome and Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu led a team in visiting the Makadara Law Courts on their national day of mourning Kivuti.

In her speech, she said, "I assure judges, judicial officers, judicial staff, court users, and members of the public that security across the Judiciary will remain a priority and will be reinforced to protect the sanctity of courtrooms and the rights of Kenyans so that they can access justice."

As we collect ourselves from this shell of grief, we must demand that the Judiciary finds centrality in the nation’s allocation of resources - CJ Martha Koome pic.twitter.com/GF4gQJN4eY

— The Judiciary Kenya (@Kenyajudiciary) June 18, 2024