Chiefs across the country have been urged to undertake training on mediation being offered on affordable terms by the Peer Counselors Association.
This training will enable chiefs to solve minor cases occurring in their areas of jurisdiction, since they are more familiar with the residents and using the skills, they can come up with terms agreeable to both parties.
A representative from the organization Miriam Katunya, while addressing chiefs and their assistants drawn from Mwingi Central Sub County noted that the judiciary is currently overwhelmed with cases, some of which are minor and can easily be solved by mediators.
She however said the biting scarcity of such mediators in the region makes solving the cases technically impossible, hence the need for related training.
Katunya noted that currently such mediation can only be done by individuals that have already received this accreditation from the Peer Counselors Association and other accredited institutions.
For instance, in Kitui such services can only be obtained from the local registrar of mediation, serving the entire county and therefore not easily accessible to all people.
Meanwhile, for individuals to qualify as a professional mediator, they would be required to complete the training, which takes 40 hours as stipulated by the Judiciary Mediation Accreditation Committee.
Once qualified, the mediator would receive a mediation certificate and would be able to do private mediation in family, labour and commercial cases.
Katunya also mentioned that any other person interested in the training is free to contact the institution.
By Kasera Onyango
