The Court of Appeal Judge, Aggrey Muchelule, has urged Kenyans to embrace Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as a way of resolving disputes outside of mainstream public courts.

Speaking after a public lecture at the Kisii University in the outskirts of Kisii town, Justice Muchelule noted that adopting ADR mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration will help to reduce the case backlog currently being experienced in courts.

“As judges and magistrates, we are under 1,000 staff dealing with cases of over 55 million Kenyans, and so, there is bound to be delays because we lack sufficient hands to hear and determine cases on time,” he said.

The judge added that adequate funding by the National Treasury would resolve the challenges faced by the judiciary.

He commended Kisii University’s School of Law for producing exemplary students, whose performance was recognized during the national and international moot court competitions, where law students from different universities compete by arguing legal cases.

“This particular university has produced very good law students, and I came here to encourage them and assure them that we will continue to work together to produce competent law graduates,” Muchelule said.

The public lecture provided an opportunity for the judiciary and Kisii University students to discuss legal matters, including judicial independence in the country.

By Simba Danface