On 18th November 2025, Kituo cha Sheria paid a courtesy call to the Hon. Chief Justice of Kenya, Hon. Lady Chief Justice Martha Koome, at the Supreme Court of Kenya, to strengthen collaboration with the Judiciary in advancing people-centered justice. The engagement highlighted Kituo’s enduring commitment to ensuring that justice is accessible, humane, efficient, and community-driven.
For over five decades, Kituo cha Sheria has championed legal empowerment for Kenya’s poor, vulnerable, and marginalized communities. Guided by the principle that justice must work for the poor to work for all, Kituo has consistently sought to bridge gaps between legal frameworks and the realities faced by ordinary Kenyans. During the meeting, kituo reaffirmed its support for the Judiciary’s Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ) vision, which aims to create a justice system that is responsive, progressive, and rooted in community needs.
The Kituo delegation, led by Board Chair Justus Munyithya and Executive Director Dr. Wambua Kituku, included Board Members Hon. Justice P.J. Otieno and Mosongo Maosa, alongside senior staff. The team engaged the Chief Justice in discussions on a range of collaborative initiatives. These included strengthening Court Users Committees, supporting the rollout and sustainability of Alternative Justice Systems (AJS), expanding access to Small Claims Courts, enhancing justice data and feedback mechanisms, and capacity-building for paralegals and other justice actors.
Highlighting the long-standing synergy between Kituo and the Judiciary, the team noted that “several distinguished judicial officers began their journeys as volunteer advocates with Kituo,” demonstrating the organization’s historical role in nurturing leadership within Kenya’s justice sector. Kituo has also contributed to numerous initiatives in partnership with the Judiciary, such as promoting Small Claims Courts for informal traders in Mombasa, training Environment and Land Court judges on carbon markets, supporting symposia and annual conferences for specialized courts, and providing legal assistance to vulnerable populations in prisons and refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma.
The meeting also explored future opportunities for collaboration. Kituo emphasized leveraging its extensive paralegal networks to support AJS rollout, strengthening community participation through Court Users Committees, and collecting structured community-level data to inform judicial policy. The organization is committed to scaling access to Small Claims Courts beyond Mombasa County, providing targeted training for paralegals and justice actors, and engaging regional networks to advance people-centered justice across the continent.
As Kituo cha Sheria prepares to launch its Strategic Plan 2026–2030, the organization extended a special invitation to the Chief Justice to serve as the Chief Guest for the milestone event. The strategic plan represents Kituo’s evolution from a lawyer-centered legal aid agency to a comprehensive legal empowerment organization, aiming to strengthen communities’ capacity to claim rights and drive social transformation.
In expressing appreciation for the meeting, Kituo reaffirmed its commitment: “Kituo cha Sheria is committed to deepening collaboration with the Judiciary to ensure that justice is not only accessible but also meaningful for all Kenyans, especially those most in need. We value the Judiciary’s leadership and stand ready to support the full realization of the STAJ vision.”
This engagement underscores the shared conviction that justice should be community-driven, inclusive, and transformative, reflecting Kituo’s vision of a society where legal empowerment drives equitable social change.
By Rony Alal