Lawyers and law students across the country have been challenged to champion Alternative Justice Systems (AJS) by conducting legal awareness and mediation training forums within communities.
Former prisons officer and registered legal mediator Peter Njiru urged legal professionals to move beyond urban centres and engage rural communities through outreach programmes aimed at educating the public on mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
Njiru said many Kenyans were willing to embrace AJS mechanisms but lacked basic legal knowledge; a gap he noted could be addressed through seminars, workshops, and community training initiatives.
He called on the Department of Law at the University of Embu to utilise its lecturers and students to organise public legal awareness forums and educate communities on how to resolve disputes outside the courts.
While commending the University of Embu for organising forums that involve community stakeholders in promoting AJS guidelines, Njiru expressed concern that some community leaders tasked with public sensitisation lacked adequate knowledge and skills to effectively educate the public.
He noted that elders and religious leaders, who frequently attend seminars and workshops on alternative dispute resolution at the university, were often too familiar with the families and individuals they were expected to assist, leading to situations where their guidance was underrated or underestimated.
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Njiru emphasised the importance of mediation, arbitration, and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in improving access to justice, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised groups. He observed that Embu County continued to experience disputes that could be addressed through increased legal awareness and mediation efforts.
According to the mediator, some serious crimes, including murder and homicide cases reported in the county, often stemmed from minor disputes that could have been resolved early through community mediation.
He further noted that lawyers, retired magistrates, and other individuals well versed in Kenyan law rarely shared their expertise within their communities, yet such efforts could greatly strengthen community-based dispute resolution mechanisms.
Njiru also urged the Judiciary and legal practitioners to roll out nationwide seminars and workshops, especially in rural Kenya, to raise awareness on laws and dispute resolution methods available to citizens.
He said embedding AJS within communities would help reduce the growing number of court cases that continue to overwhelm the judicial system.
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His remarks come as the University of Embu continues to host major seminars on Alternative Justice Systems in a bid to make justice more accessible, inclusive, and responsive to community needs.
Recently, Justice Prof. Joel M. Ngugi delivered a public lecture titled “Alternative Justice Systems (AJS) and Access to Justice under Kenya’s Transformative Constitution.”
Justice Ngugi called for increased use of out-of-court settlement mechanisms, noting that mediation, arbitration, and other alternative methods played a key role in enhancing access to justice while also reducing the financial burden of litigation on families and individuals.
The lecture attracted judges, legal practitioners, academics, administrators, community and religious leaders, mediators, and students. Participants underscored the importance of accessible justice in promoting fairness, civic participation, and community-based dispute resolution as envisioned under the Constitution.
By Robert Nyagah
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