Early Morning Fire Razes Down Court Files.

Several documents have been burnt after a fire erupted at the Mavoko Law Courts in Machakos County on Friday, May 24 morning.

In a statement, the Judiciary said the fire broke out at around 4 am in a metal container used to store closed cases at the Mavoko Law Courts.

The fire was extinguished by the fire brigade from Machakos County by 5 am and a report has since been lodged at the Athi River Police Station.

“Today 24th May 2024, at around 4 a.m., a fire broke out in a metal container used for archiving closed cases at Mavoko Law Courts.

“The Fire Department promptly extinguished the fire by 5 a.m. Police and judicial staff secured the area, and a report was filed at Athi River Police Station,” the statement read in part.According to the Judiciary, the fire damaged archived files, some ICT equipment, floors, and walls, but did not affect any active case files.

“The Judiciary’s ongoing digital transformation, including e-filing and the Ajira programme for digitizing files, aims to mitigate such incidents in the future,” Judiciary added.

Further, the Judiciary announced that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire and to implement preventive measures.

Additionally, it said the Mavoko Law Courts remain open, and operations would continue as usual.