Kenya opened its first airport court at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The court will handle cases to do with International illegal ivory and drug trafficking.
The court will serve both JKIA and Wilson Airport. There are also plans to make it the first 24-hour court in the country and also the first to operate on weekends.
The new court comes in handy as it will relieve the Kibera and Makadara law courts, which are currently overwhelmed by more than 300 pending cases originating from the airport.
Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said the airport court would greatly aid the resolution of cases, mainly involving foreigners.
“The delay of cases in our court system has often contributed to some people skipping bail. There is also the destruction of evidence such as what happened when a terminal caught fire at JKIA a few years back,” he said in a speech read on his behalf by Principal Judge Richard Mongo.
Dr Mutunga said there are also plans to set up a High Court at the airport, as some of the crimes involve property worth above the Sh20 million cap for cases handled by magistrates’ courts.
“The new court is a positive step in judicial reforms. The number of High Courts [has] increased from 14 to 24 since June 2011. This is just 13 courts shy of the legal requirement of High Courts in every county,” he added.
The new court will have one magistrate and six members of staff.
It will relieve the load of petty crimes often involving altercations between foreigners and airport staff.
There are also plans to make space for legal-aid lawyers for special situations such as dealing with foreigners who may be ignorant of the local legal system.
Attorney-General Githu Muigai, who attended the launch at the Kenya Airports Authority’s head offices, said this was a welcome step in the decentralization of the Judiciary.
The number of magistrates in the country has increased to 462 from 316 in 2012.
Mobile courts have also increased from 19 in 2013 to 52 while the number of Kadhi’s courts increased from 15 to 56 in the same period.
Speaking on behalf of Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet, deputy IG Stanley Cheruiyot also lauded the Judiciary for the new guidelines on bail, bonds and fines that he said have “eased the work of the police.”
