Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

The Judiciary in Nyamira county has lauded mediation processes in land and environment disputes after it emerged that it played a big role in reducing backlog of cases.

 The Land Court Judge Justice Kamau Mugo said this during a media briefing on a planned open dayfor the Judiciary to be held on May 15 at Nyamira Uhuru gardens ground.

The judge said that the Nyamira court which was established in 2021 has already cleared 70 per cent of the outstanding land cases, thanks to mediation.

According to Mugo, the court has already handled a total of 296 land disputes and petitions, with 208 already dispensed with while 88 are still awaiting determination.

Arbitration unit

“Of the 296 cases 105 cases were handled between 2021 and 2022 when the arbitration unit was established, with 87 of them being determined,” he added.

 In 2023, fourteen matters were determined while nine were carried forward, whereas this year, eight matters have so far been filed and are yet to be handled.

Mugo further told journalists that the ELC court combines both the environment and land cases and the same has been achieved successfully with the help of mediators and clan elders who are well versed with matters to do with land especially the ancestral lands in the region.

“Mediation works very well I can say. It is not only in Nyamira but across all the regions in the country and this has eased the burden of having so many land cases which have not been settled,” Mugo stated.