Sheria Mtaani na Shadrack Wambui has moved to court seeking orders compelling the Judicial Service Commission to fast-track the installation of disability friendly facilities within Milimani Law Courts and other court stations.

Through lawyer Danstan Omari, the lobby group also wants the court to issue a declaration that the rights of persons living with disabilities to access justice at Milimani Law Courts open court and other physical court facilities have been infringed upon and ought to be adequately and progressively met and realized.

The facilities include ramps, lifts, handrails, guiding rails and lavatory facilities.

“Progressively, the Respondent and the Interested Parties herein, be and are hereby compelled to oversee the implementation of the installation of the necessary amenities, to wit; ramps, lifts, handrails, guiding rails and lavatory facilities, to and in the best interest of persons living with disabilities, in all open court stations within the Republic of Kenya,” the applicant states.

According to court documents, persons living with disabilities, some of whom are advocates, litigants and judicial officers are not adequately catered for in respect of their access to justice, especially when and where their matters fall in open court, as there is a huge want for/of amenities sufficient to serve their mobility within the precincts of the courts.

The lobby group argues that access to justice, being an unlimited right to all citizens of the Republic of Kenya, is indirectly and conversely being withheld from the category of persons living with disabilities, given the lack of amenable mobility and lavatory facilities specifically curated for their use and utilization within Milimani Law Courts and other open court stations within Kenya.

The Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association, the Law Society of Kenya, the National Council on the Administration of Justice and the National Council for persons with disabilities have been named as interested parties in the case.