DPP: Over 7,000 Cases Pending Before Courts In The North Rift

ELDORET Kenya March 14 -A total of 7,000 criminal and civil cases are yet to be resolved more than a decade since they were filed before various courts in the North Rift region, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga has said.

The DPP on Thursday March 14 said most of the cases were related to murder, robbery with violence and defilement.

“Our courts are faced with a backlog of cases dating back over two decades that have made the dispensation of justice difficult and that is why we are championing the Alternative Justice System in all our forums,” Ingonga said.

The DPP made the remarks when he paid a courtesy call on Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii in his office while accompanied by Eldoret Presiding Judge, Reuben Nyakundi and Justice Robert Wananda.

DPP Ingonga has also implored Kenyans to resolve their disputes outside the jurisdiction of the courts especially those related to successions as one way of addressing the backlog of cases in courts across the country.

“It is regrettable to note that the majority of the parties involved in family feuds were preferring the court process that might take them decades to resolve instead of a mediation route that can take less than six months to resolve the matter,” he said.

Justice Nyakundi observed that succession and land related cases had dragged on for decades in various courts in the region, adding that there was an urgent need to educate the public on the need to take such matters for mediation.