Nyeri to get small claims court

The Judiciary is set to open a Small Claims Court in Nyeri County that will handle commercial disputes involving Sh1 million and below.

The Nyeri court will officially start operations next month.

The court will be the second to be set up in Kenya following a pilot one established 10 months ago at the Milimani Commercial Courts in Nairobi.

This is in line with the Judiciary's bid to ease the backlog of cases.

The acting Registrar of the Small Claims Court, Stella Kanyiri, said the new mechanism, presided over by adjudicators, had received more than 5,700 cases since it was set up.

“Already, the jury has determined half of the cases, whose value is more than half a billion shillings,” she said.

Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu started the court last year to enhance justice for the public through a quick, inexpensive and informal process.

Unlike the long process required by other courts to file a suit, plaintiffs in the Small Claims Court only need to download a claimant form from the Judiciary’s website.

The claimant form explains the nature of the suit presented to a court.

Claimants pay less than Sh1,000 in nominal fees.

“We have strived to ensure that the court is all-inclusive, meaning that complainants who cannot afford lawyers can file their suits personally since the whole procedure has been simplified,” Ms Kanyiri said.

Under the Small Claims Court Act, all cases should be heard and determined within 60 days of presenting the claim.

The judgments should also be delivered less than three days from the date of the hearing.

The court deals with civil disputes of contract engagements, compensation for injuries, recovery for movable property and liability for losses.

The Act does not allow the court to entertain claims for defamation, malicious prosecution, slander, land disputes or criminal matters.

Apart from the official languages of English and Kiswahili, the court allows parties to use indigenous languages, Braille and other forms of communication accessible to people with disabilities.

The Judiciary is carrying out public awareness programmes at the Nyeri Law Courts, where the second such court will be set up.

Ms Kanyiri said plans are underway to roll out Small Claims Courts in every constituency.