Abstract:
Access to justice is critical to the development of a society. In Kenya, access to justice for all Kenyans is emphasized in the Constitution. However, majority of Kenyans find it difficult to access justice due to high cost and time involved in disposing cases through the formal justice system. As a result, a debate on the use of alternative systems of dispensing justice has emerged but no tangible structures have been created to support this idea. This paper explores the effectiveness of grassroots National Government Administrative structures comprising of Chiefs, Assistant Chiefs and elders and the role they play in delivering alternative justice and the challenges that they encounter. Results showed that these structures are already involved in resolving disputes and are deeply entrenched within the community. The average time for disposing cases at the grassroots administrative structures is 5.8 days, which is significantly shorter than the average of 24 months that it takes to resolve dispute in formal judicial system. The average direct cost of resolving disputes is approximately Kshs.500 which is substantially lower than the average cost of resolving dispute through the formal court system, which is estimated to be between Kshs.6000 to Kshs.30,000. The resolution process is also characterised by flexible mechanism for summoning parties, flexible procedures for presenting cases, and less punitive remedies. The challenges that hamper the effectiveness of dispute resolution by these structures include lack of adequate training on dispute resolution, interference in the dispute resolution process, lack of adequate resources, and lack of cooperation. To enhance the effectiveness of these structures in resolving disputes, the government needs to provide trainings to the administrators and allocate more resources towards the dispute
resolution function.
