Chief Justice Martha Koome has inaugurated a new Court of Appeal station in Meru, aimed at decentralising appellate services and improving access to justice across the country.
The new station, located at Nkubu Law Courts, becomes Kenya’s eighth permanent Court of Appeal station, following the establishment of a sub-registry in Embu.
Koome said the Judiciary had doubled the number of permanent appellate stations in five years, expanding from four stations in Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa and Nyeri to eight, with the addition of Nakuru, Eldoret, Kakamega and Meru.
She said the expansion was part of the Judiciary’s transformative blueprint, Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ), which seeks to bring judicial services closer to the people.
The Chief Justice noted that the distance to appellate courts had historically imposed financial and logistical burdens on litigants, particularly those involved in land, employment and succession disputes.
“For a farmer pursuing a land dispute, a worker seeking redress in an employment dispute, or a family involved in succession proceedings, the costs of transport, accommodation and time away from livelihoods can be prohibitive,” Koome said.
She added that such challenges sometimes discouraged Kenyans from pursuing legitimate grievances, highlighting the need to make justice more accessible and responsive to the realities of ordinary citizens.
Koome said the Meru station would improve access to appellate services for residents of Mount Kenya East and Upper Eastern Kenya, reducing the geographical and economic barriers associated with seeking justice.
She also called for continued collaboration between the Judiciary and both national and county governments to secure land, develop judicial infrastructure and expand court services in underserved areas.
The Chief Justice emphasised that courts were equally important to national development, alongside roads, schools, hospitals and other social amenities.
According to Koome, courts contribute to social and economic progress by protecting constitutional rights, safeguarding property, resolving disputes, facilitating commercial activities and promoting peaceful coexistence.
The establishment of the Meru station forms part of broader Judiciary reforms aimed at strengthening access to justice and ensuring that geographical location and economic circumstances do not determine a person’s ability to seek legal redress.
