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Last year, Mombasa High Court judge Dennis Magare ruled that the Small Claims Court (SCC) lacks jurisdiction to hear personal injury claims arising from road accidents.

The law requires the Court to conclude cases in 60 days and this period, the judge found, in insufficient, owing to the complex nature of accident matters.

Established in 2021, the SCC hears claims whose value doesn’t exceed Ksh 1 million and is popular thanks to its expeditiousness, simplified procedures, and lack evidential strictures.

It therefore came as a relief to many when last month, Thika High Court judge Florence Muchemi ruled that the SCC can hear road accident personal injury cases. She reasoned that the law does not limit the type of injury suits the Court can hear, holding that such a limitation would threaten the constitutional right to access justice.

We now have 2 contradictory High Court verdicts regarding the SCC’s mandate. This has created uncertainty as Kenyans are unsure of the correct forum before which to file the relevant personal injury matters.

Should you file the case at the SCC, one Magistrate may be guided by Justice Muchemi’s decision and hear you, another may be persuaded by Justice Magare’s verdict and dismiss your case.

Ordinarily, when different benches of the same Court issue conflicting decisions, we can rely on a higher Court to offer guidance on the correct position.