NAIROBI, Kenya – Supreme Court Judge Isaac Lenaola has called into question the reliability of Kenya’s judicial digital systems following a significant outage during the impeachment proceedings of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The lapse has raised concerns about the preparedness of the Judiciary to handle high-stakes cases and the integrity of its technological infrastructure.
Speaking at a regional conference on the use of artificial intelligence, digital, and social media in elections, held in Nairobi on Friday, Justice Lenaola pointedly criticized the two-year-old system’s vulnerability.
“Those of you who followed the Rigathi Gachagua saga will remember that at some point, the Judiciary’s online filing system went down,” Lenaola remarked. “Why did that platform collapse? Why did the firewalls we created before 2022 suddenly become vulnerable?”
The timing of the October 24 outage disrupted the Judiciary’s key platforms: the e-filing system, the Case Tracking System (CTS), and the Cause List system.
These tools are critical for submitting legal documents, monitoring case progress, and generating daily court schedules.
The breakdown prompted alternative procedures, including filing through court-specific emails, as the Judiciary scrambled to manage urgent cases.
The incident cast a shadow over Gachagua’s impeachment hearings, with petitioners alleging that the outage was no coincidence.
Miruru Waweru, Andrew Njoroge, and Mutonga Kamau, who challenged Gachagua’s removal, accused the Judiciary of deliberate interference.
“It is our view that the systems were malfunctioning in a deliberate attempt to block our petition and application from being placed before a judge timeously,” the petitioners stated.
They alleged the delay aimed to allow the National Assembly to approve the President’s nominee for Deputy President without judicial hindrance.
Justice Lenaola also expressed broader concerns about the implications of such vulnerabilities in Kenya’s electoral future.
“Imagine what will happen in 2027? I will say no more, but think about it,” he warned.
The Judiciary has since pledged to address the vulnerabilities in its digital infrastructure, emphasizing its commitment to maintaining public trust.
However, the outage has left lingering questions about the resilience of Kenya’s judicial systems in the face of growing digital dependence.
The lapse has raised concerns about the preparedness of the Judiciary to handle high-stakes cases and the integrity of its technological infrastructure.
Speaking at a regional conference on the use of artificial intelligence, digital, and social media in elections, held in Nairobi on Friday, Justice Lenaola pointedly criticized the two-year-old system’s vulnerability.
“Those of you who followed the Rigathi Gachagua saga will remember that at some point, the Judiciary’s online filing system went down,” Lenaola remarked. “Why did that platform collapse? Why did the firewalls we created before 2022 suddenly become vulnerable?”
The timing of the October 24 outage disrupted the Judiciary’s key platforms: the e-filing system, the Case Tracking System (CTS), and the Cause List system.
These tools are critical for submitting legal documents, monitoring case progress, and generating daily court schedules.
The breakdown prompted alternative procedures, including filing through court-specific emails, as the Judiciary scrambled to manage urgent cases.
The incident cast a shadow over Gachagua’s impeachment hearings, with petitioners alleging that the outage was no coincidence.
Miruru Waweru, Andrew Njoroge, and Mutonga Kamau, who challenged Gachagua’s removal, accused the Judiciary of deliberate interference.
“It is our view that the systems were malfunctioning in a deliberate attempt to block our petition and application from being placed before a judge timeously,” the petitioners stated.
They alleged the delay aimed to allow the National Assembly to approve the President’s nominee for Deputy President without judicial hindrance.
Justice Lenaola also expressed broader concerns about the implications of such vulnerabilities in Kenya’s electoral future.
“Imagine what will happen in 2027? I will say no more, but think about it,” he warned.
The Judiciary has since pledged to address the vulnerabilities in its digital infrastructure, emphasizing its commitment to maintaining public trust.
However, the outage has left lingering questions about the resilience of Kenya’s judicial systems in the face of growing digital dependence.
