Kenyans have been urged to make use of arbitration and court-annexed mediation to resolve disputes.
Chief Justice David Maraga on Thursday said this will not only reduce the huge case backlog in the courts, but will also save the litigants time and money.
He said the disputes, some of them petty, take as long as 20 years in court.
“Where I come from, for example, if you quarrel with your neighbour they say 'see you in court'. That is not good as there are many cases we need to settle at home,” he said
The CJ spoke at Engineer town in Kinangop, Nyandarua county, where he opened the Engineer Law Court. He said families should take advantage of this initiative to settle succession issues.
He said the Judiciary has trained enough personnel to handle arbitration and the Court-annexed mediation.
“There are people we have trained who will help you to share property. This will help you cut the prohibitive cost and safe time. But instead, you find siblings who even don’t talk to one another because they have been fighting in courts for years,” he said
He said investors who face court matters when they come to the country want them resolved quickly and are forced to move to other countries if this cannot be done.
“We don’t want Kenya to be shunned because we are taking too long to deal with cases that come before us,” he said
Maraga reiterated that the Judiciary’s aim is to see that no case lasts more than two years.
Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia assured the CJ that the county will continue working with the Judiciary and give all necessary support.
