Kenya: Advocate Pushes Judiciary to End Geo-Blocking On Court E-Filing System

Nairobi — A Nairobi-based lawyer has petitioned Chief Justice Martha Koome to remove geo-restrictions on the Judiciary's e-filing and cause-list portals, warning that the current setup shuts out millions of Kenyans living or traveling abroad.

Advocate Francis Wanjiku in a letter to Chief Justice Martha Koome, argues that the restriction undermines the very digital justice reforms introduced to modernize court access.

"The Judiciary's digital platforms are unfortunately inaccessible from outside the territorial boundaries of Kenya," read the letter in part.

"This limitation imposes significant hardships on Kenyans living abroad, those traveling internationally, and the broader public."

Kenya's e-filing system, rolled out nationwide after its 2020 debut in Nairobi, was intended to streamline case-filing, cut paperwork delays, and allow litigants to track proceedings remotely.

It has become central to the Judiciary's digital shift, even as the system has occasionally suffered outages that have highlighted infrastructure gaps.

In his letter, Advocate Wanjiku says the portals' IP-based blocking contradicts constitutional guarantees of equality and access to justice.

He notes that the diaspora population, estimated at over three million, frequently engages in legal matters ranging from family disputes to property cases.

Without global access, he says, they must rely on proxies, incur travel costs, or risk missing crucial deadlines.

Wanjiku also points to the impact on lawyers and litigants who travel for work or education, saying the restriction leaves them unable to file documents or monitor hearings, exposing them to adjournments, defaults, or dismissals.

The advocate argues that the policy conflicts with Articles 27, 48, and 159 of the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination, require access to justice without procedural barriers, and mandate timely dispute resolution.

Aligning the system with international digital justice standards, he says, would better serve Kenyans regardless of location.

Wanjiku is now urging the Chief Justice to review the restrictions and enable secure, worldwide access to the Judiciary's e-filing and cause-list portals.

Read the original article on Capital FM.