Court-Annexed Mediation Settled KSh 26.5 Billion in One Year. Accreditation Is a Real Fee Line.

Key Data

Court-Annexed Mediation took 9,843 referrals in 2024/25, a 50% rise from 6,573, and concluded 8,828, a 90% conclusion rate, across 94 court stations (SOJAR FY 2024/25, s.2.4.19; Table 2.4.9, Ch.2 p.90). Of concluded matters, 4,566 reached settlement agreements, a 51.7% settlement rate (s.2.4.19, p.90). Matters worth KSh 63.53 billion were referred to mediation; about KSh 26.59 billion settled, with the High Court alone settling KSh 18.77 billion of KSh 46.09 billion referred (Table 2.4.10, p.91). Conclusion rates vary by court: Magistrates 93%, High Court 88%, ELRC 71%, ELC 66%, Kadhi 63%, Tribunals 60% (Table 2.4.9, p.90). Reading note: the figures are reported directly in the SOJAR; the market reading and the actions below are CounselConnect's interpretation, not legal or financial advice.

What Is Happening

Mediation under the courts is no longer a pilot. It moved 63.53 billion shillings of disputed value through referral in a single year and settled close to 27 billion of it. Referrals jumped by half. The conclusion rate sits at 90% and the settlement rate at 51.7%, which means most matters that enter the process come out resolved.

Coverage widened too. CAM operated in 94 court stations, supported by 82 mediation registries across 42 counties, with the remaining five counties named for rollout (s.2.1.10, Ch.2 p.43). The system is scaling, and it needs accredited mediators to run it.

Why It Is Happening

Legal and regulatory: Article 159(2)(c) of the Constitution requires the courts to promote mediation, and the Judiciary is using CAM to take pressure off congested dockets. A specialist push under clearance-rate targets needs a supply of accredited neutrals to handle the referral volume.

Practice Impact and Revenue

For an advocate, this is a second income stream that sits beside litigation rather than competing with it. Accreditation through the Mediation Accreditation Committee puts you on the roster the courts draw from, and the work is paid mediation rather than contested advocacy. The settlement value tells you where the substantial files are: the High Court, where a single year produced KSh 18.77 billion in settled value, and the magistrates' courts, which posted the highest conclusion rate at 93%.

Revenue Impact

Mediation accreditation converts your dispute-resolution skill into a billable role that does not require you to be on the record for either side. With KSh 26.59 billion settled in one year and referrals rising 50%, the roster is a growth market, not a sideline. Build the accreditation now and you are positioned for paid appointments as the remaining counties come online, rather than chasing the work after the registry is full.

Strategic Insight — What Most Advocates Will Miss

Most advocates read the CAM section, if they read it at all, as a threat to billable litigation. The inverse is true. Every matter that settles in mediation still needed a mediator, and the courts are short of accredited ones as they scale toward all 47 counties. The advocates who accredit early sit on the supply side of a growing market instead of watching their litigation pipeline shrink. This is CounselConnect's reading, offered as opinion and not as legal or financial advice.