Justice Charles Yano urged North Rift families to consider mediation in inheritance disputes.
Justice Charles Yano urges families to embrace mediation as inheritance battles deepen poverty and add pressure on understaffed North Rift courts.
Succession disputes are driving court backlogs in the North Rift, Eldoret Environment and Land Court judge Charles Yano said. He urged families to consider mediation rather than pursue inheritance battles that could last decades.
Speaking at an Alternative Justice System (AJS) event, Yano said judicial staff shortages compound the challenge. Judges and magistrates, he noted, face difficulties handling the region’s many land inheritance cases.
Meanwhile, bitter family disputes have blocked access to estates worth billions of shillings, the judge said. He expressed concern that families were living in poverty while fighting over their deceased parents’ wealth.
Mediation offers a route through succession disputes
Yano encouraged affected families to embrace AJS and court-annexed mediation to settle disagreements more quickly. He said these options could help reduce the backlog while resolving disputes over family estates.
The judge also praised mediation teams comprising elders, women and professionals for their work so far. He urged Kenyans to support the teams and give them time to handle disputes.
Responding to criticism of the mediators’ performance, Yano defended their contribution and said their work had made a difference. He maintained that families could resolve inheritance disagreements sooner through out-of-court processes.
Yano also raised concern about growing court battles over large estates left by parents and guardians. The Judiciary, he said, was promoting both AJS and court-annexed mediation to ease pressure on courts.
Lawyers back awareness campaign
However, the Law Society of Kenya’s North Rift chapter rejected claims that lawyers oppose alternative justice to earn more fees. Chapter chairman Oscah Oduor said lawyers actively support court-annexed mediation, including efforts to restore relationships within feuding families.
Oduor also announced plans for a major awareness campaign involving elders, religious leaders and other stakeholders. The campaign would encourage communities to embrace AJS when dealing with inheritance disagreements.
He pledged support for volunteers helping courts resolve disputes through mediation. Their work, he said, had the backing of the chapter.
Meanwhile, Uasin Gishu mediation chairman and lawyer Daniel Tariko urged families not to fear the process. He said courts would adopt and sign mediation agreements once relatives agreed on sharing their parents’ estates.
