JUDICIAL ARCHITECTURE

Development of the Court in Kenya

A Thesis presented to Department of Architecture in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Architecture, University of Nairobi; 2012.

Author: Mukuba Dennis, B02/0266/2007, Year VI

Tutor: Arch Norbert Musyoki, University of Nairobi

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Declaration:

This report is my original work and has not, to the best of my knowledge, been presented

in any University for the award of a degree or any other academic qualification.

Author: _____________________________________________________

This report is submitted as part fulfillment of the examination requirements for the

award of the Bachelor of Architecture degree, University of Nairobi.

Tutor: _____________________________________________________

Mr. Norbert Musyoki

Year Master: _____________________________________________________

Mr. Musau Kimeu

Chairman: _____________________________________________________

Mr. Erastus Abonyo

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to all those who contributed in any way during the writing of this report,

especially the following:

The staff of Institute of African Studies Library; Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library and

School of the Built Environment Library .

The staff of the Supreme Court of Kenya.

Department of Physical Planning, Meru county.

Mr. Nobert Musyoki, for his useful guidance throughout the study.

Mr. Musau Kimeu, Prof Robert Rukwaro, Prof. T.J.C Anyamba, Mr. Kigara Kamweru, Mr.

Buli Ladu, Dr. Kamenju for your useful insight.

To my classmates, Architecture Class of 2013.

My family: the Mukubas, the Atsulus, the Omukubas and the Ombonyas.

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Table Of Contents

Declaration

Acknowledgements

1. Chapter One: Introduction

1.1. Background of Study 1

1.2. Problem Statement 2

1.3. Objectives 3

1.4. Research Questions 3

1.5. Justification of the Study 4

1.6. Significance of the study 4

1.7. Scope and Limitations 5

1.8. Methodology 6

1.9. Definition of Terms 8

1.10. Assumptions 8

1.11. Literature review 8

2. Chapter Two: History of the Court in Kenya 12

2.1. Historical Background of the Judiciary in Kenya 12

2.2. Pre Colonial Era 13

2.3. Colonial and Post-Colonial Era 14

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2.3.1. Pre Independence Era(1897-1963) 14

2.3.2. Post Independence Era(1963-2011) 16

2.4. The New Constitution Era (2011-) 18

3. Case Study Methodology

3.1. Introduction 22

3.2. The Criteria of Analysis 23

3.3. Data Collection 24

3.3.1. Primary: The Survey, Field Studies, Interviews and Contact 24

3.3.2. Secondary: Review of published and unpublished case studies 24

3.4. Part One -Indigenous Courts of Kenya 25

3.4.1. Introduction 25

3.4.2. The Meru Tribal Court 26

3.4.3. The Maasai Tribal Court 29

3.4.4. The Akamba Tribal Court 32

3.4.5. The Luo Tribal Court 35

3.5. Part Two –Colonial and Post-Colonial Era Courts 38

3.5.1. Transition from East African Protectorate to The Republic of Kenya 38

3.5.2. Districts Magistrates Court 39

3.5.3. Resident Magistrates Court 40

3.5.4. High Courts 41

3.5.5. Court of Appeal 42

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3.5.6. Colonial High Court; Nairobi 42

3.6. Part Three - Attitudes to New Constitution Era Courts 49

3.6.1. Introduction Proposed Judicial Courts Competition 50

3.6.2. First Entry – Architect Anthony Macharia’s Court Prototype 51

3.6.3. Second Entry - TOLK team’s Court Prototype 56

4. Chapter Four: Precedent Studies and Analysis 62

4.1. Introduction 62

4.2. Precedent Study 1: Constitutional Court of South Africa 63

4.3. Precedent Study 2: Supreme Court of Israel 71

4.4. Precedent Study 3: Gacaca Courts - Rwanda 81

5. Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendations 85

5.1. Introduction 85

5.2. Lessons Learnt 86

5.3. List of Figures 92

5.4. List of Tables 100

5.5. References 101

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Introduction

1. Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

When we talk about the court in Kenya, we are looking at a civic space shaped by various

social orders to which the country Kenya owes merit to - herein, the traditional societies

that existed, the colonial society and the current independent republican society. Prior

to the 19th century, Kenya was home to various migratory tribes whose judicial

organizations were based on commands professed by the elderly. Most courts were a

formed as conglomerations, rather than built mechanisms.

When the British colonial masters arrived in 1890 a colonial judicial system carried along

from the royal empire was established. Its precedence was based on the reality that the

colonial masters were much more powerful politically than the native kingdoms,

chiefdoms ,Asian occupancies that did trading along the East African Coast.

The promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 heralded a new beginning for most

civic institutions (Judiciary Transformation Network, 2012). New systems of civic

functioning and characteristics were injected into our government. In the Judiciary arm

of government, various such refined functions, modeled to the aspirations of the public

at large have been put in place accordingly. The court house has gained increased

function at various levels of operation in the wake of devolution and as this happening,

Figure A1: Kenya as was with her districts

prior to establishment of New

Constitution, year 2012.

(http://werkenya.org, August ’12)

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the Kenyan people are being acclimatized to openness in expression towards the way the

Judiciary and the courts work by judicial transformations.

Kenya is divided into 47 regions called counties. These counties will soon have their own

leaderships and will be required to identify and manage their own resources to bring

development to their people (AAK Newsletter, 2012, p 13). There is need, with these

resources, to respond to specific cultural contexts defined now by county borders.

For the first time Kenyans have been given a distinct platform in cultural expression,

including attitudes towards built forms. This wake comes along with the introduction of

new occupancies in the Kenyan Court Space. The shift in government and judicial

functions means that the duty of planning and designing the courts space is no longer a

sole purpose of the national government, but a community’s prerogative.

1.2 Problem Statement

The current court space bears a unitary identity that, more-so, at the now county

government levels has little local spatial and symbolic meanings in their specific

contexts. They are generalized prototypes of judicial facilities established from British

Judicial systems. There is need to respond to specific cultural contexts while building

courts, so this study intends to create harmony between the judicial built form and

cultural context. To achieve this, the study will explore the following issues:

Figure A2: Kenya and her counties

(http://softkenya.com/, August ’12)

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Transformations of the Kenyan judiciary and Court to date

Culture of the people, with a regionalist attitude on people, place, and judiciary

custom and built form.

1.3 Aims And Objectives

The objectives of this study are:

(a) To describe the transformations of the Court in Kenya through its history .

(b) To study the architectural expressions of judicial spaces of native and

contemporary judicial eras in order to establish if there exists any constants and ordering

principles in both traditional and modern courts of Kenya.

(c) To establish how lessons learnt in such principles apply in the design of a modern

day Kenyan Court Space.

1.4 Research Questions

How has the court space responded to factors of change in the Kenyan judiciary system

through history and within the context of judicial built form; and how does the

architecture communicate in relation to their function across time?

What constants and organizational principles;of traditional court spaces in Kenya existed?

Are there any lessons learnt from the changes and traditional principles that can prompt

a regionalist architecture for Kenyan Courts?

Figure A3: 1900 Map of East African Protectorate [to become Kenya] ,

bordering Abyssinia (to become

Ethiopia), Italian Somaliland, Uganda

Protectorate and German East Africa. (http:// http://www.sikh-heritage.co.uk

Dec ’12)

Time-History

versus

Judicial space Basis of discussion to understand civic-

and cultural - expressive elements,

attitudes ,qualities and limitations that

inform the architecture of judicial built

form, with specific relevance to Kenya.

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1.5 Justification of Study

Judicial settings generate imagery and can operate as systems of order in themselves;

incorporating values that outlast and transcend the legalities and preoccupations of a

particular time (Architects Journal 1980). Herein, the Courts are servants of society,

reflecting their ideals in the basic premise of British Justice, that a man is innocent until

proven guilty. According to Erikson, the architect of Vancouver Law Courts, Canada, the

Courts often unwittingly intimidate through their arrangement or architectural

ponderousness, thereby effecting the opposite of their ideals.

“The philosophical and cultural orientation of the Judiciary has reflected its founding

history of dominance, power, prestige and remoteness, as opposed to service and

equality. Further, its architecture, rules, dress code and other rituals have uprooted it

from social reality. As a result, the public perceive the Judiciary to be alien and

insensitive” (Judiciary Transformation Framework, 2012).

1.6 Significance Of Study

Various forms of the court space have served different functions through time in the

Kenyan context. Due transformations documented in the constitution promulgated in the

year 2010, redefining the judicial nature of our republic reflect an imperative need for

an altered character of our court spaces. This is further echoed by Judiciary

Transformations. At both the highest and lowest levels of government, from state to

county, the function of the courts are bound to inherit various context-specific qualities

definitive of cultural aspirations, the same ones endorsed in the Constitution’s Chapter

Two, Article 11; on culture, thus:

Figure A4- Front-page of the Judiciary Transformation Framework hand book,

launched on May 31st

2012

(http://judiciary.go.ke; August ‘12)

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(1) This Constitution recognizes culture as the foundation of the nation and as the

cumulative civilization of the Kenyan People and nation,

(2) The State Shall-

(a) Promote all forms of national and cultural expression through literature,

the arts, traditional celebrations, science, communication, information,

mass media, publications, libraries and other cultural heritage (The

Constitution of Kenya,2010).

Judiciary, in fact being the house of law of culture, therefore receives a new outlook

respective of this knowledge. This study will establish potential theories of planning of

judicial spaces that encapsulate practices and architectural principles derived from local

culture.

1.7 Scope And Limitation

An analysis of various elements of change witnessed recently in the Judicial system will

be conducted. Undoubtedly, shifts have occurred in the judicial architecture herein.

The study will look at the time-specific functions of the superior Kenyan Courts through

history in a comparative basis within the locus of their architectural expression and what

new elements mean for such civic buildings.

It focuses mainly on Superior Courts - the Subordinate Courts (namely: the Magistrates

courts, the Khadhi’s courts, the Courts Martial) operate at different levels of organization

and are not to be found within high density urban contexts – and selected local tribunals

Figure A5- Cultural expression through built form

Sources- towelspacked.wordpress.com;

King’ori (2011); flicker.com; King’ori

(2011); Dec ‘12)

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established by an Act of Parliament (The Constitution of Kenya,2010; will looked at in

order to draw relevance in terms of planning and symbolism within a court space.

An example is the case of the Meru Community whose supreme Njuri Ncheke Council, the

only traditional judicial system recognized by the Kenyan state and is still powerful when

it comes to political decision making amongst the Meru. (Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Meru_people)

Limitations anticipated during the conducting of this study include:

(a) Financial constraints while conducting field work and research methodology

(b) Time constraints

(c) Hindered access to certain material in judicial spaces

1.8 Methodology

The following methodology will be employed:

(a) Interviews;

i. With persons of authority from the selected local culture.

ii. With Judicial staff and other selected court officials

iii. With relevant professionals, namely Architects and Planners who are

involved in design of Judicial built forms. This would yield to a proper

understanding of design concepts and underlying philosophies of Kenyan

Courts development.

Figure A6: Njuri Ncheke council of elders http://makeaworldofdifference.blogspot.

com, Accessed Dec, 2012

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(b) Precedent Studies; to draw make an objective analysis of selected Superior

Courts and selected Tribunal Court Houses in Kenya. Also of analysis are selected exotic

courts under governments that have effected changes in judicial systems. In particular

reference is the South African Constitutional Court. Consequently, the analysis of

buildings studied is under the following sub-titles.

i. Introduction

ii. Site and Context

iii. Circulation

1. External Approach

2. Internal Circulation

3. Public Circulation

4. Private Circulation

iv. Interrelationships with other functions spatially

1. Judges’ chambers

2. Witnesses room

3. Holding cells

4. Spatial quality of Circulation Areas

v. Conclusion

(c) Direct Observation; coupled with Photography and Sketches, to provide

graphical representations of spatial form and order of court spaces. Empirical parameters

drawn here will be analyzed accordingly.

Figure A7- Supreme Court of Kenya,

the highest court in our land, part of precedent study

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com, August ‘12)

Figure A8- Constitutional Court of

South Africa, part of precedent studies.

(http://coronadocommonsense.typepad.com , Aug ‘12), August ‘12)

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1.9 Definitions of Terms

1. Judicial- Of (or by) a court of law

2. Judicial Architecture – Architecture of the courts of law, that which concerns the places

where justice is administered and aids in proper function of the judge and other players

in the judicial process.

3. Court- A place where justice is administered

4. Court Space- Place where actual trials or other dispute cases were held in traditional

African Societies.

1.10 Assumptions

It is assumed that there existed specific planning principles of courthouse design in respect

to symbolic meaning. Be it by the British culture or local culture.

1.11 Literature Review

This theoretical discourse based its arguments on the following publications

Published Works

Wangũhũ Ng’ang’a: Kenya’s Ethnic Communities- Foundation of the Nation.

Gatundu Publishers, 2006.

This colossal work describes the histories and characteristics of Kenya’s ethnic

communities.

Figure A9- Courtspace. Showing the

first sitting of the Supreme Court –

Kenya on October 26 2011.

(http://www.standardmedia.co.ke,

August ‘12)

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Hardenberg, Tobin, Yeh. The Courthouse: A Planning and Design Guide for Court

Facilities. Williamsburg, Va.: National Centre for State Courts

This book highlights issues that affect the planning process of Court facilities. Court

design is discussed in terms of nine criteria: design and image, space, environment,

needs of persons with disabilities, adjacency and circulation, accessibility, security,

furnishings, and technology considerations.

Todd S. Phillips & Michael A Griebel: Building Types Basics for Justice Facilities.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc July 2003

Building Type Basics for Justice Facilities provides in-depth information that is essential

to initiate designs for a variety of justice facilities, including law enforcement, adult

detention, courts, corrections, juvenile and family justice, and multi-occupancy

facilities.

Denyer, Susan. African Traditional Architecture. Nairobi, Heinemann Educational

Books Ltd, 1978.

Besides documenting traditional African architectural heritage this book attempts to

classify African Building and relate its forms to ecological and historical factors.

Book Excerpts

Brian Bruce Taylor. Perspectives and Limits on regionalism and Architectural

Identity

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Kenneth Frampton. Prospects for a Critical Regionalism

Unpublished works

Jiwaji, D. Law Courts in Kenya: Investigative Report. University Of Nairobi, 1981.

This thesis’ objectives was to make an analysis of High Court in Kenya:

In order to understand the requirements of a judicial building.

To trace the development and changes with happened from the first courthouse built in

1902 to the late 70’s, in an attempt to realize its implications on future designs.

Kyalo Mativo. Judicial Architecture-A Form/Spatial Expression Analysis. University

of Nairobi, 2001

This thesis’ objectives were:

To study both historical and contemporary judicial settings in order to understand the

judicial considerations of judicial buildings.

To understand the impact of spatial expression requirements of judicial buildings on

building form.

Ole Ketere, W.S. Law Court Buildings: Investigative Report. University Of

Nairobi,1984.

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This thesis’s attempts to analyze selected number of law courts in Kenya and one book

case with a view to establishing the underlying principles and concepts in the context of

their cultural, social and economic environment. It was hoped that certain design

constants in all the studied institutions will be unveiled.

Ireri Patrick Mugendi. Courthouse Architecture: Designing Accessible and Secure

Kenyan Courthouses. University Of Nairobi, 2006-2007.

This thesis’ objectives were: To develop a compelling campaign in favour of a sustainable

courthouse design concept that incorporates suitable security approach and accessible

design.