DEFEND the
DEFENCELESS
Give today to reimagine the justice system.
Justice Defenders trains incarcerated people and prison staff as paralegals and lawyers to serve those denied justice.
Access to justice is a human right. We defend that right because everyone deserves to share their story.
170,000 clients served
People in prison without access to justice served with free legal advice.
69,000 people released
Clients released by the courts and reunited with their families and communities.
700 paralegals trained
Incarcerated people and prison officers equipped to use the law since 2018.
Numbers updated: November 2025
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A community of unlikely allies
We are defenders of the defenceless. We are a community that serves people in conflict with criminal law. Our movement unites those behind bars and those beyond them: prisoners, prison officers, advocates, and supporters.
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A law firm of lived experience
Two Justice Defenders have gone on to qualify as Advocates of the High Court of Kenya, and are now practising law in the very system that once confined them. Many more are following in their footsteps.
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A global movement shifting power in prisons
In 2025, Justice Defenders achieved a historic milestone as Kenya’s High Court agreed to hear a landmark case challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty. The case is led by Morris Kaberia, a former person on death row turned lawyer.
Meet the
Defenders
“There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.”
Saint Óscar Romero
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Morris Kaberia
From Death Row to Defending Justice Everywhere
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William Okumu
From Being Behind Bars to Joining the Bar
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Hamisi Mzari
From a Prison Cell to High Court Advocate
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Ruth Kamande
From a Death Sentence to Defending Women and Girls
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Canaan Nkamuhabwa
From Death Row to Championing the Forgotten
Our transformative work
has been featured in the
media for over twenty years.
THE GUARDIAN
BBC
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
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