Launch
Makueni Children Court Users Committee (CCUC) was launched officially on Thursday by the Makueni High Court Presiding Judge Teresia Matheka.
Matheka launched the committee at the Makueni High Court Boardroom where the members who are drawn from government agencies and civil society were also sensitised on their roles and the Children Act respectively.
The roles of the committee include ensuring accountability and consultation in administration of justice where the voice of children can be heard, find obstacles that prevent children from accessing justice and also conducting fact finding missions on how children are treated.
Other roles are cultivating partnerships amongst various stakeholders in the justice sector and implementing policies of children and strategies in the administration of justice and promoting information sharing. During the event, Matheka called upon all the various stakeholders to work closely in ensuring issues of children were attended to speedily in a bid to enable the children access justice.
In this regard, she reminded each member to take their roles seriously in the committee so that the whole system can work for the good of the children to access justice without any delay. Consequently, the Presiding Judge challenged the members to offer their services at any time including weekends taking cognizance of the welfare of the children they are supposed to serve and speak on their behalf.
“We are a big force and can change matters, it is our responsibility and duty to work together to ensure justice is served to children in the county,” Matheka said. “The system must work and each one of us knows what to do and we can be held accountable. When the system is working, we are their parents and it doesn’t matter which day of the week it is,” she said.
On his part, Makueni County Children Coordinator Thomas Mulwa said that it was imperative to have collaborative efforts of all stakeholders in addressing children’s issues to make sure justice was served to them. Those in attendance included Makueni Court Chief Magistrate Peter Gesora, officers from national and county government and non-state organizations.