CJ Koome suspends court sessions on Tuesday to mourn Judge Kivuti

Following the death of Makadara Chief Justice Monica Kivuti, Chief Justice Martha Koome declared Tuesday a day of mourning for the judiciary.

In honour of the late judge, Koome announced on Tuesday, June 18, the suspension of court sittings and pending cases in all courts and tribunals.

“There will be no court session on that day. Cases scheduled for Tuesday in all courts and tribunals will be given priority in the court calendars,” she said.

Koome pointed out that pThe incumbent judges and heads of judicial stations will hold memorial meetings at 10 a.m. on the day of mourning in the common rooms of all judicial stations across the country to express their condolences to Kivuti’s family and to each other.

CJ Koome said the Nairobi courts would meet at the Makadara and Milimani courts to express their condolences.

Kivuti died on Friday in Nairobi hospital, where she had been taken for specialized treatment after the shooting.

She suffered gunshot wounds to the hip and chest.

Kivuti was transferred to the Metropolitan Hospital and later to Nairobi Hospital.

An urgent blood donation appeal was launched on Friday to save her life, but she succumbed to her injuries later that night around 11 p.m.

In a statement Thursday, Koome said the judge was shot after she “revoked bail for an accused who had failed to provide satisfactory explanations for the failure to appear on bail.”

“Immediately after this verdict was announced, someone shot the judge and wounded her in the hip,” she said.

The officer, identified as Chief Inspector Samson Kipchirchir Kipruto, in charge of a police station in Londiani, Kisumu, pulled out a gun and shot the judge, injuring her.

Other officers in the courthouse responded immediately; one of them shot the police officer who committed the incident, killing him instantly.

Three other officers were injured in the ensuing brawl, the police report said.