The Judiciary says it is probing the motive behind a man who set himself on fire outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, a man set himself on fire outside the Supreme Court in Nairobi over what he termed as delayed justice.

In a statement following the incident, Judiciary Spokesperson Paul Ndemo confirmed that the man, who had sustained serious injuries in the shocking incident, would be questioned by the police to determine the motive behind his actions.

Ndemo said Judiciary was investigating whether the incident is linked to a court matter.

“It is expected that once the man is treated and out of danger, the police will interrogate him to establish the cause of his shocking action. Meanwhile, the Judiciary is taking a keen interest in the matter, with a view to determining whether his drastic action could be linked to a court case,” Ndemo said.

The Judiciary said the man was carrying some documents and a bottle containing a liquid.

While standing on the street pavement outside the Supreme Court, he placed the documents on the ground, doused himself in the liquid—believed to be petrol—and pulled out a lighter, setting himself on fire.

Ndemo said security officers at the Supreme Court gate responded immediately and rushed to rescue the man by putting out the fire.

“Police officers guarding the Supreme Court reacted swiftly to the situation, rescuing the man by extinguishing the flames. A joint effort by the Nairobi County Government and the officers saw him rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital,” said Ndemo.

Court bureaucracy

The victim, identified as James Kipira according to documents found with him, sustained serious burns following the Tuesday morning incident.

The man later told police and medics who rescued him that he was frustrated by court bureaucracy and had no hope of getting justice in a case over a car sale agreement he had entered into in Mombasa in 2023.

The incident shined a spotlight on frustrations by litigants amid recurring claims of corruption in Judiciary and prolonged delays in resolution of cases.

The Judiciary has consistently denied graft allegations challenging litigants accusing judges and magistrates of graft to file compliant with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Judiciary has also blamed pending cases on inadequate resources including judicial officers.

A report released in November 2024 indicated that the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Magistrates’ Courts, and Small Claims Courts recorded the highest number of pending cases, as the Judiciary registered a 1.2 per cent increase in backlog.

The report stated that pending cases across the Judiciary rose from 625,643 to 649,310 during the period under review. 

By Sharon Resian, Capital News

The European Union reiterates its commitment to the unity and territorial integrity of Sudan and the sovereignty of the Sudanese people. 

Plans for parallel ‘government’ by the Rapid Support Forces risk the partition of the country and jeopardise the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people for an inclusive Sudanese-owned process that leads to the restoration of civilian rule. 

The European Union calls upon the parties to the conflict to end the harassment of civil society representatives and to refrain from restricting civic space. The EU’s framework for restrictive measures on Sudan targets people or entities undermining efforts to resume the political transition in the country. EEAS

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) and first son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba in the wee hours of Tuesday revealed on his X (formerly Twitter) handle that Ugandan troops are in South Sudan to protect President Salva Kiir and secure the capital, Juba.

Shortly before the disclosure to secure Juba, he wrote that the UPDF recognizes only Salva Kiir as the president of South Sudan and that any move against him is akin to a declaration of war against Uganda.

“We the UPDF, only recognize ONE President of South Sudan, H.E. Salva Kiir, he is our ‘Afande’ even in UPDF because he is the younger brother of Mzee [Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni]! Any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda! All those who commit that crime will learn what it means!” he wrote.

“As of 2 days ago, our Special Forces units entered Juba to secure it,” Gen. Kainerugaba added.

He polished off with: “We shall protect the entire territory of South Sudan like it was our own. That is the will of the Commander-in-Chief!”

Known for his outbursts and controversial late-night and early-morning posts on X, the Ugandan president’s son has in the past often riled neighboring countries and created uncomfortable diplomatic spats from which Ugandan officials have distanced themselves.

In a controversial post in December last year, Gen. Kainerugaba said, “I’m going to give only ONE WARNING to ALL white mercenaries operating in eastern DRC. From 2nd January 2025, we will attack all mercenaries in our area of operations.”

He added: “In the name of Jesus Christ, the God of all Bachwezi, there shall not be left one white mercenary in DRC this time next year!”

The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reacted by summoning Uganda’s Acting Chargé d’Affaires in Kinsasha, Matata Twaha Magara, to seek clarification on the Uganda government’s official position on the matter.

Relatedly, on 18 December 2024, Sudan demanded an official apology from the Government of Ugandan for what it referred to as the offensive and dangerous comments published by the Ugandan Chief of Defense Forces on the X platform in which he threatened to seize Khartoum as soon as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

In a statement issued by its foreign ministry, Sudan also called on the African Union and regional and international organizations to condemn these statements, and what they entail in terms of a clear threat to regional and international security and an insult to Africans.

Gen. Kainerugaba’s controversial post on X was deleted, like many others

According to the statement, the Sudanese foreign ministry considered the Ugandan army chief’s comments reckless, and irresponsible and said “They represent a complete departure from the rules of conduct of those occupying senior official and military positions, including prudence, discipline, and choice of words.”

“These comments embody an abnormal precedent and a regrettable level of disregard for international law, the norms of dealing between states, and the requirements of mutual respect between brotherly and friendly peoples,” the statement read in part. “The threat of war, the violation of the sovereignty of states, and the challenge to the Charter of the United Nations, the African Union, and the rules of international law are too dangerous to be a subject of trivialization, seeking the spotlight, and astonishment.”

Before that, Gen. Kaineruga threatened to invade Kenya and capture Nairobi within a few days. His father, President Museveni would later apologize to Kenya.

The Ugandan Army Chief is no stranger to South Sudan and was severally in the country when the UPDF intervened after the war erupted in December 2013. At the time, the Ugandan foreign ministry said the UPDF came in to protect Juba International Airport and to ensure the evacuation of Ugandans and other nationals. However, the UPDF soon took on a larger mandate, including fighting rebels on the Juba-Bor Road and recapturing Bor Town between late December 2013 and early January 2014. Observers blamed the Ugandans for using cluster bombs against the rebels. Radio Tamazuj