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.

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.

This year’s conference is very special and focuses on access to justice in crises situations. The Conference theme “access to justice for all in a socio-economic crisis: lessons from a global pandemic Covid-19”. It comes at a time when countries are now more concerned with not only containment measures about the pandemic but also building back the economy better.

Earlier definitions of gender-based violence (GBV) centered on violence against women.

It was defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.