Anti-piracy procedures delayed in Kenya?

(BRUXELLES2) This is a new blow for the legal proceedings against pirates in Kenya. A country which however hosts a good majority of piracy suspects transferred by European and Anglo-Saxon forces. The Kenyan judiciary has indeed just undergone a vigorous sweep, which could have indirect consequences on the cases in progress, in particular piracy. Four magistrates of the Court of Appeal have thus just been removed from office. They were deemed unfit to perform their duties, having failed the integrity test. Some were seen as accepting "gifts" too easily, others too politically engaged or turning a blind eye to the tortures suffered by the defendants. A decision which is part of a verification of the skills of senior magistrates and a more general reform of justice. Three of the five judges in charge of piracy cases have thus been sent back to their studies. This should not only lead to an overload of work for the 11 remaining judges but also oblige us to start from scratch some hearings according to our Kenyan colleagues. With a slowdown in ongoing procedures at the key...