Chief Justice pushes for out-of-court dispute resolution

The Judiciary has asked Kenyans to embrace alternative dispute resolution to ease congestion in courts and prisons.

Chief Justice David Maraga said if Kenyans used alternative means, the courts will have ample time to handle the case backlog.

The CJ praised Uasin Gishu County’s decision to set aside land for a Magistrate’s Court.

“I’m happy to confirm that Uasin Gishu County has set aside a two-acre piece of land in Moiben to be used for the construction of a Resident Magistrate’s Court to save residents the cost of travelling all the way to town to get judicial services,” CJ Maraga said.

ELDERS' ROLE
He appealed to other governors to emulate the county.

Addressing the local Court Users Committee (CUC) in Eldoret, the CJ said some of the pending court cases could be easily resolved at the family level, with the guidance of elders.

Saying not all cases should be taken to court, he called upon elders to develop a moral mechanism that can be used to settle disputes at the family level.

EFFECTIVE

He challenged the CUC to work with other stakeholders to support judiciary services to ensure that Kenyans get justice.

The CJ also hailed Chuka CUC for being effective in using alternative means instead of going to court.

“I would challenge the Eldoret CUC to emulate Chuka CUC, which has settled over 250 cases outside the court within the shortest period,” Justice Maraga said.

PETITIONS
On the anticipated election petitions, the CJ said the Judiciary had put in place proper mechanisms to handle all disputes likely to emanate from the August 8 General Election.

“We anticipate a lot of petitions after the August 8 elections, especially MCAs’ petitions; that is why we are re-training our magistrates and judges to be ready to handle all election petitions within the required period of time as per the law.”