The judiciary records in Kenya today show that a total of 12, 213 matters have been referred to court-annexed mediation, with the value of these cases currently standing at about Ksh.55 billion.
Majority of banks and other financial institutions have stayed away from the mediation approach, with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Dr. Patrick Njoroge attributing the matter to mistrust and dissatisfaction among customers in their dealings with banks which have been on the rise.
Dr. Njoroge also said the slow uptake of the approach is due to a lack of awareness, especially by customers, who fail to distinct between formal litigation and mediation.
“It is a timely event where the banking sector is being called upon to embrace mediation in the resolution of their disputes,” said Njoroge.
This even as Chief Justice Martha Koome challenged banks and their clients to utilize the mediation approach to prevent further build-up of case backlogs in the private settlement agreements.
“Private settlement agreements have the potential to prevent further build-up of case backlog in our judiciary as cases are resolved without first being filed in court unlike in Court Annexed Mediation (CAM) where existing court cases are referred to.
Private settlement agreements have the potential to prevent further build-up of case backlog in our judiciary as cases are resolved without first being filed in court unlike in Court Annexed Mediation where existing court cases are referred to,” said CJ Koome.
They both spoke during the opening of the Banking Industry Mediation convention hosted by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) in partnership with Strathmore University Dispute Resolution Center and the Judiciary.
Koome said the judiciary is keen on mainstreaming Mediation Alternative Justice Systems (AJS) and Arbitration as an integral and legitimate part of the dispute resolution system.
According to Judge Fred Ochieng, Chair of CAM Taskforce who also graced the event said,” it is in the interest of both banks and individuals to have their disputes resolved in a speedy manner” by avoiding unnecessary delays in resolution of such disputes have serious impact on the business of banks and may affect their viability.
Court Annexed Mediation has overseen the establishment of 43 Mediation Registries across the country with an average settlement rate of 52 percent since its launch in 2016.
