By Gerald Mukembu
The chief justice Martha Koome and Tharaka Nithi Woman Rep Susan Mwindu are advocating for alternative justice dispute resolution to reduce backlog of cases in courts.
Koome called on faith based institutions to partner with courts in helping dispute resolutions.
Speaking in Meru during the PCEA general assembly, the chief justice lamented that families have become enemies of each other because they no longer talk to resolve emerging issues.
“In 2007 post election violence, we killed one another and destroyed property and later there was a handshake, similar to 2017. Everything starts at the table, we all have a stake for this country. Why don’t we sit at the table instead of fights and agree how we can govern our Country. No one has a bigger stake than the other in this Country,” Koome said.
Mwindu said she advocates for alternative dispute resolution for an amicable way of living to reduce court cases.
Mwindu said there is a need to facilitate dialogue and conduct civic education to build harmony in the society.
“It is time the church and Judiciary work together to bring peace and harmony in families. There is a need to entrench truth and justice because without truth, the Country can’t stand,” Mwindu said.
Mwindu said ADR should be fully incorporated and supported to solve small petty cases.
Koome said there is a need to deepen the covenant between the churches and judiciary through purposeful collaboration in diverse areas including judiciary accredited trainers, para-legal and mediation programs
She said that the Country is faced with three great threats.
“The threats we are facing as a country today are corruption, climate change and Gender Based violence or femicide,” she said.
She urged the churches to conduct educative seminars as Justice dialogue centers because people feel free and comfortable when called in churches than when called in courts and uplift the vulnerable families.
“Let’s look for practical problems to these threats for every Kenyan to be a champion of peace. We call faith based institutions to actively participate in use of mediation and alternative justice systems in resolving disputes. I can never understand why families take each other to court. Children take their mothers to court because their father died just because they don’t want their mothers to be the administrator of the estate. Despite being the one who gave birth to them. They cannot allow her to be their trustees,” Koome said.
Koome said greed has destroyed our moral public and where people can’t reason with one another and build harmony within families by sitting down and talking to each other.
“We stopped talking to each other a long time ago. Brother and sister wrangling, some wives don’t talk to their husbands. It is time we be their mediators as the body of Christ. We need the church to build harmony in our society. The church and court can become partners in shaping a justice system that is spiritualy grounded. Why take your brother to court. Why punish one another,” she said.
