BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA THE Judicial Service Commission has imposed stringent requirements to be followed to gain entry to courtrooms as part of measures to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus. This comes as government has imposed a 30-day lockdown effective yesterday. In a statement, Chief Justice Luke Malaba said all pending cases should be rolled over to next month. For now, he said courts would only be open for initial remand cases, urgent matters and bail applications. He said only litigants, lawyers, witnesses and the media would be allowed into court premises. “With effect from January 5 2021, the filing of new cases, processes, documents, pleadings and papers shall be suspended for a period of 30 days up to February 3, 2021, unless the period is earlier extended or revoked,” he said. “All summons, subpoenas and warnings in court issued directing accused persons and or witnesses to appear in court between January 5 2021 and February 3 2021 are cancelled and shall be reissued after the expiry of the lockdown period.” Justice Malaba also suspended community service for offenders saying they would resume their duties after the lockdown. The Sherriff and the Messenger of Court will be available to attend to matters that are connected or related to urgent processes and applications.
