This archive report was first published on 2 December 2019.
FIDA Kenya has taken a significant step in addressing the rising cases of homicide in families by launching a family mediation centre.
The centre, which has a legal basis through the constitution, aims to mediate and resolve family disputes out of court.
According to FIDA Chairperson Josephine Mung'are, the mediation program has achieved a 70% success rate in solving many family disputes.
The launch of the centre comes as the country is still reeling from the gruesome murder of a 16-year-old girl by her teenage friend in Naivasha.
The suspect, a 17-year-old boy, has been ordered to remain in custody for nine more days to allow completion of investigations.
Meanwhile, in Bungoma County, a suspect in the murder of another villager will stay in custody for the next two weeks.
The heinous acts all point to family disputes, which FIDA Kenya attributes to moral decay in modern families.
Mediation has been embraced by the judiciary as one of the ways of reducing the backlog of cases in court.
