The Judiciary is set to build a new multi-million-shilling complex to host the Supreme Court in a bid to ease pressure for office space and judge chambers.
The Judiciary said in a disclosure the new complex would be in the Nairobi central business district (CBD).
“The Judiciary is now desirous of developing a world-class Supreme Court building. It should be an iconic national symbol building with state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure, acoustics, environmental design, and compliance with the relevant laws in the building sector,” said the Judiciary in a tender call for the design of the building.
The current Supreme Court building on City Hall Way is ageing and congested partly because it also houses Court of Appeal judges after the Judiciary rejected a leased office block in Upper Hill, Nairobi, in 2013.
A work plan by the Judiciary shows that the new complex would host state-of-the-art facilities, including an exclusive wing for the Chief Justice’s office with a chamber and a 50-person boardroom.
The CJ office wing would also have space for two secretaries, a waiting area with 20 seats, a self-contained office for the Chief of Staff as well as offices for the CJ’s legal counsel, personal assistants, judicial staff and a separate office for each of the 10 advisers to the CJ. The office will also have exclusive parking for 20 cars, a kitchen and a store.
The new Supreme Court complex will also host the Deputy Chief Justice who will have exclusive washroom facilities, a 10-person boardroom, offices for legal advisers, and a reserved parking lot for 10 cars.
The complex will also host 13 self-contained executive chambers for Supreme Court judges with meeting rooms, a waiting area for each judge’s chamber, and offices for two secretarial staff, and 50 law clerks.
The exclusive wing for Supreme Court judges will also have two courtrooms with full information technology integration, an automated board room with a capacity of 100 people, a lounge with a cafeteria to accommodate 50 people, a rapid-response clinic, a convalescence centre with ambulance services, and children care centre.
The judges will also have a gymnasium, a hybrid library, and a reserved parking lot for 15 cars.
The new complex will also have public spaces, including an advocate Lounge, a robing area, washrooms and lockers, an information technology-integrated customer care hub, a lactation and baby care room, a public waiting area with washrooms and a media briefing room that can accommodate 100 people.
The public space will also have a memorabilia vendor wing, a theatre-style auditorium that can hold 1,500 people attending special events such as admission to the Bar ceremonies, and a transcription room. The facility will also have a public parking space for 200 vehicles.
However, the Judiciary did not disclose the cost of the planned Supreme Court complex.
The Judiciary will also build a new complex to host the Court Appeal, nearly a decade after it spent Sh70 million to hire a controversial building that appellate judges never used.
The Judiciary, in a disclosure, said the new complex would cover 20,000 square metres in Upper Hill.
Court of Appeal judges are housed at the Supreme Court building after the Judiciary rejected the leased office block in Upper Hill on grounds it emitted radioactive material.
The Judiciary spent Sh70 million to lease the building known as Elgon Place and even partitioned the judge’s chambers, offices and six courtrooms, among others.
Documents tabled before Parliament showed that the tender committee approved the award to Knight Frank (K) Ltd, agents of Sealink Holdings Ltd, the owners of the building, for the lease of 34,400 square feet at a monthly charge of Sh4,204,638, translating to an annual rent of Sh50,455,667.
