Kenya establishes international crimes court division 14 years after ICC intervention

By  Joseph Wangui

Correspondent

Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

• The division will handle international crimes, terrorism, human trafficking, kidnapping, arms and drug trafficking, piracy, wildlife and environmental crimes.
• CJ Martha Koome has also issued practice directions governing case filing, evidence management, hearings and witness protection within the new division.

Chief Justice Martha Koome has established a High Court division for international and organised crimes, 14 years after its proposal emerged amid efforts to strengthen domestic prosecutions following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) intervention in Kenya.

The International and Organised Crimes Division takes effect on October 30 under a Gazette Notice dated October 19, 2026. 

The proposal for the division’s establishment was first pursued in 2012, amid efforts to strengthen domestic prosecution of international crimes following the 2007/8 post-election violence and the ICC intervention.

The division will handle international crimes, terrorism, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, kidnapping, arms and drug trafficking, piracy, wildlife and environmental crimes. It will also hear extradition and mutual legal assistance matters, plus related constitutional petitions and judicial reviews.

The notice says the Chief Justice established the division “to hear cases arising from International Crimes Act (ICA), 2008, as well as appeals arising from Organised Crimes tried in the subordinate courts and whose appeals lie in the High Court”. 

It may also take “any other cases where the Chief Justice, in consultation with the Principal Judge of the High Court, allocates to the Division from time to time”.

The move follows years of debate about how Kenya should handle serious international crimes through its own courts. 

The Judicial Service Commission formed a working committee in May 2012 to study an International Crimes Division, and a report recommending its establishment followed that October. The process continued until June 2016, when a planned launch was cancelled.

The International Crimes Act, 2008, already provides a domestic legal framework for specified international crimes. The law implements Kenya’s obligations under the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court. 

At a September 2025 symposium in Nairobi, judges, prosecutors and legal experts renewed calls for a specialised High Court division to prosecute international crimes, citing Kenya’s unresolved accountability questions following the 2007-08 post-election violence. 

They also pointed to cases involving alleged grave human rights violations, including the Baby Pendo case, and called for stronger witness protection, adequate funding and specialised training for investigators, prosecutors and judges.

Prosecutors charged the Baby Pendo case as crimes against humanity under the International Crimes Act because the alleged killing, torture and sexual violence formed part of wider abuses during the 2017 post-election violence, with commanders accused of responsibility for their subordinates’ actions. The accused persons in that case initially included 12 senior police officers.

The Chief Justice has also issued practice directions governing case filing, evidence management, hearings and witness protection within the new division.

The notice says the cases must be filed electronically through the division’s principal registry. Classified and confidential documents must be submitted through a secure portal. The trial court must hold a status conference within 14 days after a new case is filed, setting a timetable and addressing evidence disclosure and witness safeguards.

Further conferences may organise trials, set witness numbers and consider video-link testimony from protected witnesses. The court may also set procedures for digital and electronic evidence.

The directions provide for closed hearings, voice distortion, opaque screens and confidential records where necessary to protect witnesses and victims. The court must issue directions for victim participation, including structured legal representation where needed.

The division’s original jurisdiction under the International Crimes Act will be exercised by a single judge. Reviews, revisions, appeals and judicial review applications will also be heard by one judge. Appeals from subordinate courts will generally go before one judge, although the Presiding Judge may direct a two-judge bench in a particular case.

The division will apply Kenyan criminal procedure and evidence rules alongside International Criminal Court rules, where applicable. 

Where written law does not provide a procedure, the court may adopt another approach it considers appropriate, taking account of the circumstances and the rights and views of the parties.

Cases already part-heard at other High Court stations or divisions will remain there. Subordinate courts will continue handling matters within their existing jurisdiction, while the new division takes cases assigned under the notice.

The notice does not identify the judges who will sit in the division, its staffing levels, budget or specialist support for complex investigations. 

Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.