New court building opened at Molo Law Courts

A new court building was officially opened at Molo Law Courts. Chief Justice David Maraga  presided over the function  that was attended by residents and local leaders of Molo, led by Governor Lee Kinyanjui. nnThis is the fifth court project funded by World Bank through the Judicial Performance Improvement Project (JPIP), to be opened in the country. The World Bank is supporting construction of 29 court projects across the country. Court construction in the country is aimed at increasing access to justice and enhancing service delivery.nnMolo Law Courts handles about 422 cases monthly. Out of these cases, 230 are criminal, 23 civil, while 130 comprise traffic cases, among others.nnWith the opening of a new Molo Court building, members of the public will enjoy enhanced access to justice and improved service delivery. Construction of the Court building commenced in June 2015 and was constructed at a cost of KSh99 million.nnThe court building houses four spacious court rooms, chambers and secure registries for each division making it easier, faster and secure to store and retrieve court files.nnFurther, the building comprise a customer service bay, counters for effective and efficient services, separate holding cells for men, women and children as well as rooms where litigants and their lawyers can consult in private. The new court facility is equipped with ramps to enable physically challenged person access the courts. It comprises the children’s waiting room and offices for the prosecution, prison and the police.nnThe court serves a wide geographical area that comprises four sub-counties namely; Molo, Kuresoi, Rongai and Londiani.  There has been a growing demand for court services owing to the increasing population in the area, which the old court facility, constructed in the 60s, could not cope with, hence the need for a new court building.nnThe Court was first established in 1927 by the Colonial Government as an African Court Tribunal. The European settlers presided as Magistrates on cases facing Africans working at the white highlands. In 1963, the court was moved to the current location where the administration duties of the court were done by African Magistrates from Nakuru Law Courts. In 1973, a District Magistrate III, was posted to the station to preside over the court.nn nn nn nn nn nn