A Kenyan businessman has sent Chief Justice Martha Koome a demand letter for failing to provide judicial services in Swahili and requiring court users to use the internet to obtain justice.
Enock Aura has given the Chief Justice (CJ) seven days to revoke the Practice Directions on standardization of Practice and Processes in the High Court 2021, which were introduced at the beginning of the year.
Kinyanjui accused the CJ of failing to consult Kenyans from all walks of life and in a transparent manner before announcing the new Court guidelines in the demand letter, which was written in Kiswahili.
"Despite being the Chief Justice of Kenya and knowing the importance of national administration principles under Articles 10 (2) and 232 (1) of the Kenyan Constitution, you have violated these directives. You issued Gazette No. 189 on January 11, 2023, without consulting Kenyans "Harrison Kinyanjui and Company Advocates drafted the letter.
Kiswahili is the country's second official language, according to Aura, who wants the judiciary to record and publish legal reports in it.
Additionally, he charged Koome with breaking Article 7 of the Kenyan Constitution and demanded that she post pertinent court notices of the judiciary in Kiswahili in all Courts across the nation.
"The court's official languages are English and Kiswahili. Having said that, statutory provision has expressly stated that the High Court will use Kiswahili in addition to English "He states in the notice of intent to sue.
The businessman also criticized Koome for wanting to end in-person court services since COVID-19 struck the nation three years ago. When Koome decided that cases should be decided online rather than in person, he charged her with unjustly closing the courts.
Aura claimed that Koome had violated Article 24(1) of the Kenyan Constitution by threatening to bar Kenyans from using in-person judicial court services as well as other in-person court services.
Content created and supplied by: JobW (via Opera News )
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