The Swahili have a saying; “mwana wa muhunzi asiposana, hufukuta” (Should the child of a smith not learn his father’s craft, they will at least learn how to rekindle the furnace). The saying is about the power of mentorship. It means there is some special skill, however minute, you learn by staying close to an experienced person.

Egerton University’s Faculty of Law Legal Aid Project (FOLLAP) is creating the Fourth National Conference on Access to Justice on the theme “Climate Change and Environmental Justice”.  The conference will be held in Nakuru Countyfrom 22^nd - 26^th October 2024. Indeed, the planetary crises of climate change is directly and indirectly impacting human rights globally. These crises undermine the enjoyment and protection of human rights and exacerbate environmental injustices, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable, marginalized, and excluded people and communities; they also act as threat multipliers, amplifying conflicts, tensions, and structural inequalities that negatively impact access to justice. There are as many stakeholders involved as there are challenges and successes in addressing climate change and environmental justice. The idea is to tap into these and present authentic work that can help in mitigation and policy reforms in the sectors.

Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law andAccess to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law andcomponent of justice. It is a right guaranteed under internationalinstruments and the Constitution of Kenya. Accessing justice iscomplex and can be difficult especially for the vulnerable andmarginalized members in the society due to inequality, socioeconomicstatus, gender bias and stereotypes in the justicesystem. I fully appreciate the work done by various entities in thejustice system in promoting access to justice in their variousspheres. The academy plays a pivotal role in access to justice asit is through its training that lives of those responsible foradministering justice is initially shaped.

The story of alternative justice systems (AJS) is partly the story of going back to our roots and asking ourselves how our forefathers solved their disputes then after picking the best practices, applying them in the modern-day contexts we live in.

The Faculty of Law Legal Aid Project (FOLLAP) will join the Judiciary and other stakeholders on Monday 16 May in the launch of the Nakuru County Action Plan (CAP) on Alternative Justice Systems (AJS).

The launch will take place at the Nakuru Law Courts and will be presided over by the Chief Justice Martha Koome and will see the unveiling of an AJS suit as well as the Small Claims Court.

A group photo of participants at a mediation training sponsored by FOLLAP in 2020. FOLLAP has been capacity building community members on the use of AJS in Nakuru county.

FOLLAP has been an active partner in the development of the action plan and has been capacity building community members on AJS as a tool of accessing justice.

In 2020, for instance, it partnered with the Mediation Training Institute (MTI) in training selected community leaders in Nakuru county on mediation. Among those who benefited are Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs.

AJS is provided for in Article 159-2-C of the Constitution and are aimed at facilitating efficient access to justice in other forms other than the use of formal courts.

The Egerton University Faculty of Law Legal Aid Project (FOLLAP) is training its staff on mediation. The training is aimed at capacity building the staff on how to help communities solve disputes easily as a way of accelerating access to justice which is FOLLAP’s main goal.

The Faculty of Law Legal Aid Project (FOLLAP) on Friday 8^th July held stakeholder engagement forum to deliberate on the intersection between access to justice and democracy.

Women’s access to justice still remains a mirage due to institutional mechanisms, norms and patriarchal practices. Senior Research Associate at the Institute for African Women in Law (IAWL) Muthoka Mutie said class, financial constraints and long distances to courts continues to deny women access to justice.