Police officer shoots magistrate during court session

• Magistrate shot by a police officer during routine court session at Makadara Law Courts
• Shooting caused panic and confusion within the courtroom
• Emergency services dispatched, and the injured magistrate rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment

In a startling incident at Makadara Law Courts, a routine court session was abruptly disrupted when a magistrate was shot by a police officer.

The shocking event occurred during proceedings, causing panic and confusion within the courtroom.

The shooter shot Magistrate Monica Kivuti in the thigh in Court No. 9.

The magistrate had made a ruling in a case touching on his wife. The shooter has been neutralised by his colleagues.

Emergency services were quickly dispatched to the scene, and the injured magistrate was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

This alarming event has left the Makadara Law Courts community in shock, highlighting the critical importance of security measures in maintaining the sanctity and safety of judicial proceedings.

According to police reports, the senior officer involved in the shooting is a police commander in Kisumu.

He had traveled to Nairobi to address a case involving his wife.

The court session was being held in a tent outside the main court buildings.

After the magistrate made a ruling on the case, the officer went behind the tent and shot her, as stated by Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei.

"Other officers present responded by shooting the officer, fatally injuring him," Bungei added.

In the chaos, another member of the public was also injured.

The area cordoned off as investigation into the incident begins.

Update: 3:45 p.m.

The accused, facing charges in a fraud case, appeared in court and explained that her previous absences were due to her battle with cancer.

Despite her explanation, the magistrate revoked her bond for missing court sessions and ordered her to be held in custody until June 27.

Following this decision, the accused contacted her husband, who arrived at the scene armed.

Judiciary Issues the statement below

We are saddened to report an unfortunate shooting incident involving a police officer and a Magistrate at the Makadara Law Courts on 13th June 2024.

During an open court session earlier today, the Magistrate cancelled the bond for an accused person who had jumped bond and had failed to offer satisfactory explanations for jumping bond. Immediately this decision was pronounced, a person shot at the Magistrate and injured her on the hip.

Police Officers in the scene responded and neutralized the shooter, and the Magistrate was rushed to hospital for treatment.

Preliminary reports indicate that the shooter is a Police Officer who is married to the suspect whose bond was cancelled.

As the Judiciary family, we wish our colleague a quick recovery. We also send our condolences to the family of the officer who lost his life in this unfortunate incident.

We urge for calm from all court users as our law enforcement agencies further investigate this incident.

We would also like to assure all Judicial Officers, Staff and Court Users of their safety and security in all our premises. We will enhance our security protocols for civilians visiting our courts as well as security officers who visit courts in circumstances that do not require them to be armed.