CJ Koome Appoints 16-Member National Mediation Steering Committee

Chief Justice Martha Koome has appointed a 16-member Steering Committee on Mediation to guide the expansion of mediation services across the country.

The appointment was announced through a gazette notice dated November 21, 2025, and will run for five years starting November 24, 2025.

Koome said the Judiciary has continued to develop both Court-Annexed and Private Mediation programmes, which have improved access to justice and encouraged peaceful settlement of disputes. She noted that the new committee will help strengthen these efforts in line with the Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ) blueprint.

The committee will be chaired by Justice Aggrey Otsyula Muchelule.

Other members include Mediation Accreditation Committee Chairperson Justice George Vincent Odunga; MAC nominee for Ethics John Ohaga; Employment and Labour Relations Court representative Lady Justice Jemima Wanza Keli; Environment and Land Court representative Justice Munyao Sila; High Court representative Lady Justice Caroline Kendagor; Registrar of Magistrates Courts Caroline Kabucho; Attorney General’s Office representative Charles Mutinda; and Law Society of Kenya representatives Paul Wanga and Josephine Oyombe.

Also appointed are FIDA-Kenya representative Anne Ireri; Kenya Bankers Association representative Raimond Molenje; Academia representative Dr. Peter Kwenjera; Office of the Chief Justice representative Dr. Josephat Kilonzo; Kenya Judiciary Staff Association representative Dan Dennis Mutugi; and Grace Nasike Sitati, who will serve as Secretary and Head of the Mediation Secretariat.

The committee has been tasked with providing leadership and oversight in expanding mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method across the country. It will guide the establishment of mediation registries in all court stations, create regional mediation committees, and develop a national Mediation Action Plan. It will also help strengthen the legal and policy framework for mediation, oversee training and capacity building for mediators and judicial officers, coordinate public awareness efforts, and support the transition of the Court Annexed Mediation Secretariat into a fully-fledged office within the Judiciary.

The committee will submit regular reports to the Chief Justice and may form sub-committees to support its work.

“This appointment takes effect from the 24th day of November, 2025, and Gazette Notice No. 6869 of 2017, is revoked,” the notice reads.