Mandera — Chief Justice Martha Koome has launched three key justice initiatives during a tour of Mandera County.
They include a Maslaha Alternative Justice Systems Centre; a High Court-Sub Registry and e-filing in Mandera, Elwak and TakabaCourts.
This is the first time since independence that a Chief Justice has visited Mandera.
Speaking during the opening of the Maslaha Alternative Justice Systems Centre - which is a joint partnership between the Judiciary and the County Government of Mandera - the CJ rallied Kenyans to embrace Alternative Justice Systems saying often times they have better justice outcomes than courts.
"The traditional adversarial system of justice, while critical, is not the sole mechanism for the resolution of disputes. I urge all of us to open our hearts and minds to embrace a multi-door approach to justice.
This approach broadens our perception of justice, accommodating alternative forms of dispute resolution that can often be more effective, conciliatory, and efficient in delivering justice."
Mandera County Governor, Mohamed Adan Khalif lauded the partnership between the County Government and the Judiciary in the establishment of the Maslaha Centre that he hoped will make justice more accessible than ever before.
The Mandera Alternative Justice Systems model is a hybrid system of access to justice linking tradition, religious teachings and the formal justice system into one pot. Peace and cohesion in the county is also paramount and the model seeks to achieve the same.
The CJ said she "considers adoption of Alternative Justice Systems (AJS) beneficial because it is closer to the people, more affordable, easier to access, familiar, and less bureaucratic. It also serves as a form of restorative justice. Due to its participatory nature, it ensures more social inclusion."
Lauding the 'wholesome' justice that Alternative Justice Systems deliver, CJ observed that they "prevent injustice and reduce harm suffered by people by focusing on root causes of injustice and on justice needs of entire communities and societies rather than just individuals."
She said the benefits of these alternative approaches to justice cannot be overstated and invited Kenyans to use them to resolve their disputes. "They save time and resources, reduce the burden on courts, and foster a sense of ownership and satisfaction among the disputing parties. They are based on dialogue, negotiation, reconciliation, and restorative justice, encouraging us to see justice not just as a punitive measure, but also as a constructive and healing process."
Speaking during the function, Justice Mohammed Warsame, who is a son of Mandera County, and a champion of AJS urged the elders who will act as Maslaha'judges' to be worthy of their calling and practice gender inclusion. "They should be Judiciary's ambassadors and must pursue peace and justice - which should normally go together. In a panel of five, two or three members should be ladies so that both men and women get justice."
Justice (Prof) Joel Ngugi, who is the Chairman of the National Steering Committee on Implementation of Alternative Justice Systems Policy, told the gathering that some of the AJS avenues that justice seekers should utilizeinclude religious leaders; clan elders; Court Annexed Mediation; AJS Working Group and peace building committees.
Justice (Prof) Ngugi noted AJS is a preferable method of resolving family disputes, land disputes, and commercial disputes. He however made it clear that criminal matters, Sexual and Gender Based Violence matters including defilement, should be handled exclusively by courts and never through AJS.
CJ Koome, in the same forum, also launched the High Court Sub-Registry. This means that litigants can now file High Court matters in Mandera and a judge will be visiting in a regular manner to attend to the cases.
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Principal Judge of the High Court Eric Ogola said that the High Court Sub-Registry will reduce the cost of accessing justice "Justice should be devolved. It must be brought closer to the people." He decried that "witness expenses, especially in the far flung areas pose a special challenge since it becomes very expensive to transport witnesses."
Judge John Onyiego from Garissa - who will be the visiting Judge - reported that he had hit the ground running by visiting Mandera Prisons yesterday and reviewing 21 files out of which seven convicts who had less than three months remaining to serve, were released.
Meanwhile, Mandera County today became the 7th County where e-filing has been rolled out after Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya and Kiambu.
The CJ observed that the three initiatives launched are steps in a journey that will see the Judiciary move closer to its vision of ensuring that every Kenyan, irrespective of their status, can access justice promptly and without unnecessary hurdles.
