Judiciary developing curriculum to train conciliators to speed up dispute resolution

The Judiciary is developing a curriculum for the training of conciliators to embolden the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Employment and Labour Relations Court Principal Judge Byram Ongaya said Chief Justice Martha Koome was working with consultants through the Kenya Judiciary Academy to develop the curriculum.

He said the move is meant help intensify dispute resolution within and out of courts to deal with issues of backlog of cases in courts.

“We anticipate reduced litigations in court. Of course litigants will continue coming to courts but alternative dispute resolution mechanisms is one of the things we consider very important in terms of resolving work based disputes,” he said.

“No case will come to court before going through alternative dispute resolution processes at the work place or statutory resolution through conciliation,” he said.

Ongaya spoke when he launched the Kakamega ELR court user’s committee at Golf hotel in Kakamega. 

The Employment and Labour Relations court was established in Kakamega in April this year.

Labour related cases were handled in either Bungoma or Kisumu before that.

The court users committee together with the bar bench committee are the committees though which the Judiciary offers citizens an opportunity to participate in delivery of justice. 

It is in this committees where stakeholders share court procedures, their legitimate expectations and feedback.

Ongaya said there were 11,000 cases pending before ELRCs across the country, adding that they are expected to be dispensed by end of the year.

He said each of the 21 ELRC judges across the country handles 500 cases on average.

The judge said ELRC has progressively been expanding across the country to ease access to justice by moving the courts closer to the people.

He said there are 12 judges serving in Nairobi with a circuit in Machakos, two in Mombasa with a circuit in Malindi, two in Nakuru with a circuit in Kericho and two in Kisumu with a circuit in Kisii. Nyeri has one judge with a circuit in Meru while there is one judge in Eldoret with a circuit in Kitale.

“Within the CJ's vision of social transformation of access to justice, courts should be taken closer to the people to allow them to participate within the principal of shared power under the constitution,” he said.

Kakamega ELRC resident judge Jemimah Keli said the court which was initially in Bungoma since 2021, was moved to Kakamega in April this year.

“The decision to move the court from Bungoma was informed by the fact that more cases that were registered in the station were from Kakamega county arising from disputes in the sugar and tea sectors,” she said.

The judge said the court had registered 607 cases by the time of relocation to Kakamega. 

She said 65 cases were transferred to Kakamega while 50 other cases remained in Bungoma which is now serving as a circuit to serve Busia county.

She said 115 cases are spending determination in Kakamega.

“We intend to serve the people better by the presence of the court in Kakamega although we’re still operating a circuit,” she said.