Top public officials can be served court documents through their official emails or their offices under special circumstances, a court has ruled.
The landmark ruling by the High Court was in response to an application by former Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, who is accused of being criminally responsible for the conduct of police officers during the infamous Gen-Z protests of June 2025.
Koome, in his application, wanted an earlier judgment which held him accountable for the brutal conduct of police set aside, arguing he had not personally been served the court documents.
However, in her ruling on Monday, May 26, Justice Roselyne Aburili tossed out Koome's application, refusing to entertain Koome's technicality allegations in the case. Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome during a 3-day assessment tour in Baringo County on April 2, 2024 Photo NPS Justice Aburili affirmed that public officers of high rank can be served court documents electronically or through offices, especially when there are security concerns of the possibility of intimidation from the officer. "Effecting service of court documents upon the Inspector General of Police in Kenya involves certain procedural sensitivities and security considerations," Judge Aburili said. "To expect that a process server would track down an Inspector General of Police to hand over court documents personally may not be practicable." The judge asserted that it was quite reasonable for the servers of the court documents to do so using other means for fear of intimidation.
