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"id": 937807,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Were",
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"legal_name": "Petronila Were Lokorio",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to contribute in support of this Bill by the distinguished Senator from Makueni, Sen. Kasanga. As usual, this is a well-researched Bill. She does a very good job and I am privileged to contribute to it. It seeks to provide for settlement of civil disputes by other ways other than the court. Our forefathers had no courts, but no matter the complexity of the disputes or problems, including marital disputes, they were resolved in this manner that is suggested by this Bill. We had no divorce in those years, although there were no courts. This is because there was a better way of resolving issues. Cases come about as a result of an emotional reaction to an issue. Most of the times when we have an issue, we react emotionally to it, and we sometimes drive the matter all the way to court when still carrying that emotion. Once that emotion wears down, which does not take long, regrets follow. For example, a case will have already been lodged in court. Therefore, there is need for alternative dispute resolution so that when you reach that point and your emotions are down, you can go back and say, “I need this resolved in other ways.” Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Bill seeks to recognise and officialise, through legislation, the process of alternative dispute resolution. Court processes take a long time and a lot of money and energy, not just on the courts themselves, but for the parties involved. In my small village in my county of birth, Busia County, there is a land case that has been going on since I was born. Over the years in market centres and in watering halls, we hear issues of that case. When I think about it, I realise that that matter could easily have been resolved through an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. This is because if you listen to the issues around the case, even if you have not gone to court yourself, in those market centres and watering halls, they are issues that elders could have sat down and resolved. It is case that has gone through a grandfather, a father, a son, and it sometimes takes lives. These are issues which could have easily been resolved by elders. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Part II of this Bill seeks to accredit and register conciliators and mediators by a committee that is already established in law in the Civil Procedure Act. These conciliators and the mediators are checked and supervised by the said committee. This Bill also provides that both parties to the matter must agree to the alternative dispute resolution, the mechanism, the conciliator, the resolver, or the mediator. They must be agreeable and even the process must be agreeable to both parties."
}