South Nyanza lawyers call for enhanced security in courts

Law Society of Kenya South West Kenya branch members on Wednesday raised concerns over low levels of security accorded to courts and judicial officers in the country.

They said lack of proper and adequate security leaves lapses that can be exploited by violent mobs fighting back justice.

"Had there been proper security around our courts we couldn't witness the henous murder of the Makadara Law Court Magistrate Monica Kivuti," branch chair Benard Gichana said.

Kivuti was shot by a policeman at a court in Nairobi on Thursday after she cancelled his wife's bail due to absconding sessions.

The cop entered the court through the magistrate's door and fired shots towards the magistrate, injuring her on the chest and left hip.

She died later in hospital.

The cop identified as Samson Kipchirchir Kipruto, was shot dead by other officers following the attack.

In Kisii, the lawyers described the Makadara court killing as unfortunate.

"From whichever angle one can look at it, the killing was senseless and gruesome, a murder most callous and foul and that is why we have turned out in the streets to protest today," Gichana told journalists outside the Kisii Law Courts.

Gichana spoke after leading dozens of lawyers from the region in procession around Kisii town streets to protest Kivuti's murder.

Around 150 lawyers and law students participated in the protests.

Gichana said it was a pity security in most law courts was still low and porous days after the gory incident.

"Currently there is no screening at the gates here in Kisii and this can give license to elements that may be bent on frustrating justice through violence. As a society we demand an overhaul on how courts are guarded," he stated.

He called on the authorities to accord judges maximum security due to the fact that judges and magistrates handle sensitive cases.

"It saddens to lose a judicial officer so young to senseless killings. Kivuti has left behind a very young and fragile family that has now been robbed of a breadwinner for good," he said.

Gichana expressed fears that even lawyers may be new targets if the security of the courts is not upscaled.

"Let everybody working in and around court be made to feel secure, " he added.

Hillary Ongori, an advocate, said it was a pity that even in Kisii, some judges are holding sessions in tents compromising their security.

They asked the government to release funds meant for the construction of the regional courts.

"If we addressing insecurity, we must start by ensuring that the judges are holding sessions in decent and secure environments, not tents. I have seen judges sharing chambers, it is pity," he said.

The procession took the lawyers to the office of the County Commissioner Joseph Kibet who said the government was already addressing their concerns through relevant agencies.

"What you're doing is commendable and it shows we are our brothers' keeper. It was an incident that all of us abhor," Kibet told the lawyers outside his office.