By Anna Chibamu

CHIEF Justice Luke Malaba has ordered postponement, with immediate effect, of all non-urgent court hearings over the next 60 days except for bail applications and initial remand.

The measures, which will see court proceedings take place without a gallery, are aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus.

In a statement, Malaba also banned court weddings and informed those who had made prior bookings to approach the courts after two months for rebooking.

“Trials and non-urgent hearings must be postponed for a period not less than two months except for urgent matters, bail applications and initial remands. No hearings will be done in chambers,” the chief justice said.

“In instances where hearings are held, these should be confined to parties involved in the case and their legal practitioners. Those not involved in the case are discouraged from attending or coming to court,” said Malaba.

The chief justice also ordered all Judicial Service Commission (JSC) officers working at the courts, legal practitioners and litigants to be sanitised at the court entrances.