The Environment and Land Court Judges Conference, 2026 concluded on Thursday, June 25, with a rallying call to strengthen the partnership between the Judiciary and the whole mining sector.

Under the theme ‘The Green Bench: Advancing Sustainable Extractives Management, Climate Justice, And Environmental Rule of Law in A Changing Planet’, the three-day conference — held at Swahili Beach Resort in Diani, Kwale County — saw the bench and the entire mining sector and its players understand each other better.

Giving her closing remarks, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu said the collaboration between the Judiciary and the State Department for Mining was borne of the close alignment between “our complementary ambitions”.

Mwilu, who also doubles up as the Deputy President of the Supreme Court, is of the school of thought that sustainable investment in the extractive sector depends not only on sound regulations but also on a credible justice system, one that is capable of resolving disputes fairly, protecting constitutional rights, enforcing environmental standards and providing certainty to investors and communities alike.

“I commend both the State Department for Mining and the Environment and Land Court (ELC) for co-convening this conference,” Justice Mwilu said. “This conference is a good example of how careful designed collaboration can strengthen judicial effectiveness through equipping judges with the technical understanding necessary to determine the increasingly otherwise complex disputes with greater confidence, accuracy and consistency.”

She, however, insisted that the collaboration should not be viewed as a one-off event. “It should become a model of institutional cooperation. It demonstrates how independent constitutional institutions can work together within their respective constitutional lanes to improve governance, deepen public confidence and enhance the quality of justice.”

During the three days, judges of the ELC engaged with full breadth of Kenya’s mining sector —its constitutional and legal architecture, its regulatory institutions, its community obligations, its environmental responsibilities, and the emerging challenges that will define the sector’s future.

Regulators, industry practitioners, community advocates, environmental specialists and legal experts also gave their valuable insights, with the stakeholders having a rare opportunity to witness first hand — at Base Titanium — what responsible mining looks like on the ground — land being restored, community commitments being honoured, and a licence obligation fulfilled to its conclusion.

“That field visit was, in many ways, insightful and eye-opening to the judges. It was not simply an excursion — it was an exposure to the lived reality of mining governance on the ground,” Principal Secretary for State Department for Mining Harry Kimtai noted. “Standing on that rehabilitated land in Kwale, seeing reclaimed earth where extraction once took place, put into vivid and concrete perspective everything discussed in these halls — a powerful reminder that every legal question about mining is ultimately a question about land, communities and people.”

PS Kimtai remained upbeat that the collaboration between the state department and the judiciary would yield a far-reaching impact.

“We do not govern this sector alone — and we do not wish to. The quality of Kenya’s extractive governance is directly shaped by the quality of the jurisprudence that oversees it. Every well-reasoned judgment, every order carefully calibrated to protect rights without obstructing lawful activity, every decision that holds the State and investors accountable to their obligations — these are as consequential to this sector as any licence we issue or regulation we enforce.”

The PS pledged that the State will remain a willing and available technical partner to the Judiciary in as far as governing the mining sector is concerned.

Other notable attendees of the conference include, but not limited to, Dr. Abdillahi Alawy, Chairperson, National Land Commission, Kabale Tache Arero, Chief Executive Officer, National Land Commission, Honorable Principal Judge of the Environment and Land Court, Hon. Justice Oscar Angote and the Honourable Judges of the Environment and Land Court.