The Judiciary turned to WhatsApp and other digital channels on Monday, October 26, after technical problems disrupted access to its Cause List Portal, affecting advocates and other court users.
In a notice, the Judiciary advised advocates and court users to log in to their e-filing accounts and use the Calendar feature to access virtual court links and check cases scheduled for the day.
“The Judiciary wishes to inform Advocates and Court Users that, while technical challenges affecting the Causelist Portal are being addressed, alternative arrangements have been put in place to facilitate access to court sessions scheduled for today,” the notice stated.
Court administrators had downloaded cause lists from the Court Tracking System (CTS) and shared them through Bar-Bench and court users’ WhatsApp groups to ensure those attending court could access the information.
Judges and judicial officers were also expected to display the cause lists during virtual court sessions, where possible, to help advocates and other participants follow the day’s proceedings.
The Judiciary said its technical teams were working to restore the portal and asked court users to remain patient as the alternative arrangements were put in place.
The Cause List Portal allows users to check cases scheduled for hearing across different levels of Kenya’s courts.
The disruption comes as the Judiciary continues to manage both its digital services and physical court records. The institution has recently issued notices on plans to dispose of old files from several court stations, including Thika, Eldama Ravine, Kerugoya and the Nairobi High Court’s Commercial and Tax Division.
The records disposal exercise covers civil, criminal, traffic and inquest files, with some civil records dating back to 1968. The exercise is intended to free up storage space and reduce the cost of maintaining old records.
Separately, the government issued a cybersecurity alert on October 21 over critical vulnerabilities affecting PHP, a programming language used to run websites and online services.
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy and the ICT Authority directed government agencies to identify affected portals, apply security updates and temporarily restrict external access to vulnerable services where necessary.
However, no link was established between the PHP security alert and Monday’s disruption of the Judiciary’s Cause List Portal.
