Chief Justice Martha Koome is reaching out to the church to spearhead mediation and alternative justice system to reduce the backlog of cases in the country.
Koome said the Judiciary was looking up to the church to enlighten Kenyans on the merits of mediation and alternative justice system in resolving disputes, saying they were much faster, accessible and cheaper than the conventional court process.
Court Annexed Mediation (CAM) was introduced by the Judiciary in an effort to alleviate case backlog and in line with Article 159 (2) (c) of the Constitution which mandates the Judiciary to promote alternative forms of dispute resolution including reconciliation, mediation, arbitration and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms.
“We are so learned, we have all the wisdom of Solomon, but if the other agencies are not working properly, they will affect us, won’t they? So, we must move together, empower each other, look at where the challenges are, and address them to find solutions,” said Koome while emphasising the significance of collaboration between the Judiciary and other agencies.
She hailed the Nakuru Peace initiative, which spearheaded the need for mediation to settle disputes in the community.
“This was a church-led initiative to have peace in our communities, and they gave us many examples of cases that have been settled in that dispute resolution center in Nakuru,” Koome noted.
In light of this success, Koome said she was working towards establishing court-annexed mediation centers in every county and court station across the country.
“I am working very hard to make sure that in every county, we have a court-annexed mediation, and in every court station, we have a court-annexed mediation and AJS, so that people can sit around a table by the fire the way we used to before, find out the root cause of the problem, and try to address it,” she explained.
The goal, she emphasised, is to ensure that justice is a lived experience, not an abstract concept that people chase in court for years.
“It must be available when you need it and immediately,” she said, urging churches, ministries, and workplaces to support the judiciary by seconding pastors to court stations to provide spiritual nourishment and assist with mediation and AJS efforts.
