This archive report was first published on 27 December 2019.
Kenya's economy is losing out on significant revenue due to unresolved trade disputes worth Sh38 billion in courts, which are also denying citizens jobs and derailing business opportunities.
According to a report by the Court Annexed Mediation (CAM) Committee, 16.7 percent of civil suits referred to mediation since 2016, valued at Sh7.4 billion, were concluded after parties settled disputes amicably, allowing projects and contracts to continue to fruition.
The regions implementing mediation were Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Machakos, Garissa, Embu, Kakamega, Kisii, Malindi, and Nyamira.
As of October 3, 2019, the seven Courts/Divisions in Nairobi referred 1,941 matters for mediation, with 1,542 concluded and 725 matters settled, the report said.
Regional courts also reported referring 1,828 matters for mediation, with 1,206 concluded and 640 matters marked as settled.
The CAM committee has proposed expanding the arbitration jurisdiction to 11 more regional courts to complement the work done by the inaugural CAM centres, but this will largely depend on funds' availability to remunerate mediators, activate CAM registries, and train judges, judicial officers, and staff on the mediation processes.
