Approximately Sh52.1 billion has been released back to the economy as a result of the expeditious resolution of cases through Court Annexed Mediation (CAM), data released by Chief Justice Martha Koome shows.

CJ Koome told participants at the start of the 2nd Annual Mediation Summit that a total of 16,770 matters out of 18,162 referred to Court Annexed Mediation had been resolved, translating to a 92.3 per cent conclusion rate.

“The settlement rate has been improving yearly.  The last financial year 2022/23 saw a ettlement rate of 51.2 per cent; while in the current year 2023/24, the settlement rate is at 54.98 per cent. In the current financial year, the average case running days is at 73 days,” the CJ’s keynote speech delivered by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mbete Mwilu highlighted.

Since last year’s summit on ‘Mediation and Banking,’ over 400 matters have been referred to mediation in the banking sector alone.

“Since last year’s summit that focused on banking, 446 matters have been referred to mediation and this has seen the release of approximately Sh7 billion back to the economy,” the summit heard.

Court Annexed Mediation has been rolled out in 40 counties and efforts are being made to bridge the gap in the remaining seven counties, with 60 Mediation Registries supporting 118 courts having been established.

The Chief Justice indicated that there has been a gradual increase in the number of accredited mediators growing to a total of 1,515 with 832 of them having active status.

“We are actively seized of the challenges relating to timely settlement of mediators fees and I want to use this opportunity to assure you that we are working on long term solutions to this challenge,” CJ Koome assured.

The second mediation summit has now shifted focus to labour relations and is themed: ‘Harmonizing Labour Relations: Fostering Social Justice and Economic Growth Through Mediation.’