Mijikenda villagers push for customary courts
Ganze MP Mr Peter Shehe (left) receives a sword from the secretary general Mijikenda council of elders Mr Katana Mwarandu when he was installed the Coast kingpin in 2013. The MP has said negotiations have started between the community and the Attorney-General on the formation of customary courts. He said modern courts were not well informed about customs and traditions on marital disputes or divorce cases. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
Villagers want the courts to have powers equal to kadhi courts in solving marital disputes.
Modern courts said to have failed to give appropriate sentences to murder suspects in witchcraft cases.
The Mijikenda want traditional courts set up to deal with their disputes.
They also want the courts to have powers equal to kadhi courts in solving marital disputes.
Traditional courts would also preside over witchcraft claims and sanction oath-taking, which, according to the Mijikenda, was the only way to determine whether someone bewitched another or not, said Ganze MP Peter Safari Shehe.
“We have seen elderly men and women being butchered as there is no legal framework to settle disputes in this field. We want to return to the old ways where a system was used to settle issues amicably,” Mr Shehe said.
The MP, who is a Mijikenda spokesman, said negotiations had started between the community and the Attorney-General on the formation of such courts.
“We want to start our own courts which will be better at handling our issues, including traditional matters concerning marriage, divorce and inheritance.”
FINE FOR ADULTERY
Mr Shehe told reporters at Bahari Beach Hotel on Thursday that modern courts were not well informed enough about the customs and traditions of the Mijikenda to arbitrate marital disputes or divorce cases.
Among the Mijikenda, a man is asked to pay a fine called “malu” for having an affair with a married woman.
If a marriage ends, the children remain with the man and his in-laws are obliged to refund the bride price.
The woman cannot inherit her father’s property. This contradicts the Constitution of Kenya, which guarantees equal rights of inheritance to sons and daughters.
Magarini Deputy County Commissioner Richard Karani has repeatedly said that modern courts have failed to give deterrent sentences to those suspected to have murdered elderly people accused of practicing witchcraft.
“The administration and police departments have done their best in arresting suspected killers but they have almost always been set free by the courts due to lack of evidence or failure to get any witness to testify,” Mr Karani has been quoted lamenting.
Mr Shehe revealed that the community was touting a Malindi-based lawyer, Mr Joseph Karisa Mwarandu, who has handled traditional cases for decades, to be the first judge of the traditional courts.
