The judiciary department will now scale down court activities in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus.
“In compliance with the directive issued by the National Emergency and Response Committee, we shall forthwith scale down court activities throughout the country over the next two weeks effective tomorrow, March 16, 2020 in order to allow further consultations and design appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the virus.” Read the statement.
In a press statement released by the Council for Administration of Justice, the judiciary arm of the government will suspend major court activities including all appeals, hearings and mentions in Criminal and Civil cases.
The council further directed the Police to handle petty crimes at Police station level and only file serious cases to court within the next 14 days.
Foreign travel, confrences and gatherings have also been suspended, with the council issuing tough regulations to ease congestion in prisons.
All the staff working at the courts will however remain on duty, to continue to handle certificates of urgency and taking plea for serious cases.
