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Seven students in Kenyan prisons will begin their University of London law degrees this November 2025. They will study from Kamiti and Lang’ata. Places where access to justice can often be hardest to reach, and where change has the greatest impact.
Legal education inside prisons has been central to our work since 2013. Sixty-seven people have completed this degree while in custody. Many now run legal offices, file appeals, win cases, and continue practising law after release. Alumni have challenged sentencing practices and advanced mental health cases in Kenya and Uganda. Two have been admitted as Advocates of the High Court of Kenya, with four more progressing toward admission. This is what happens when legal power sits with those who know the system from the inside.
The degree demands discipline and resolve. For the seven beginning their studies, it is not only an academic undertaking. It is a clear statement: the law belongs to all of us. As Mandela did, they will study from confinement, turning cells into places of legal study and practice.
They will not do this in isolation. Legal practitioners, lecturers, and prison officers will work alongside them. Their progress strengthens a community demonstrating that justice can be rebuilt from within.
Meet the students
Emmy Jepkosgei Chumo Ruttoh
Location: Lang’ata Women’s Prison
Joined Justice Defenders: 2020
Why do you want to study law?
I see people struggle to understand their rights and find their way through the justice system. Studying law will help me serve them more effectively from within prison. Education opens doors, and I want to make justice reach people who are overlooked.
What do you hope to gain from the degree?
A strong foundation in the law so I can provide clear guidance, support fair process, and challenge systemic failures with knowledge and confidence.
What do you want to do after qualifying?
Continue practising law with greater impact, contribute to fairer legal processes, and offer pro bono support so legal representation is not limited to a few.
Jane Muthoni Mucheru
Location: Lang’ata Women’s Prison
Joined Justice Defenders: 2017
Why do you want to study law?
To gain the skills and knowledge needed to provide legal support and uphold the rule of law where it is most needed.
What do you hope to gain from the degree?
Strong legal skills, rigorous learning, and the ability to engage with experienced lecturers and a wide academic community. I aim to perform strongly throughout.
What do you want to do after qualifying?
Qualify as a legal representative and offer pro bono legal support to those without representation, and share legal knowledge so more people can defend themselves.
Nahashon Mutua
Location: Kamiti Maximum Prison
Joined Justice Defenders: 2020
Why do you want to study law?
To gain the legal knowledge and skills to support others in custody and strengthen my own practice.
What do you hope to gain from the degree?
A deeper understanding of the law that enables me to provide professional legal support inside prison.
What do you want to do after qualifying?
Continue serving people in custody and, after release, support my wider community through legal practice.
Bernard Masake
Location: Kamiti Maximum Prison
Joined Justice Defenders: 2023
Why do you want to study law?
I have seen many people face the justice system without representation. Studying law is a direct way to respond. My paralegal work showed me how limited legal support harms people and strengthened my resolve to defend others.
What do you hope to gain from the degree?
A deeper understanding of criminal law, human rights, and legal ethics, turning lived experience into credible legal practice and systemic reform.
What do you want to do after qualifying?
Practise law with a focus on criminal justice, mentor others, and show that legal contribution is possible from within prison.
Duncan Bii
Location: Naivasha Maximum Security Prison
Joined Justice Defenders: 2021
Why do you want to study law?
I want to strengthen access to justice and respond to the consequences of people facing the courts without legal support.
What do you hope to gain from the degree?
Strong legal reasoning and advocacy skills, grounded in a curriculum that prepares me to serve people facing the justice system with clarity and competence.
What do you want to do after qualifying?
Qualify as an advocate specialising in criminal law, stand with people who face the justice system alone, and contribute to reforms that uphold rights and accountability.
Mbugua T. Muthee
Location: Nairobi Remand and Allocation Maximum Security Prison
Joined Justice Defenders: 2023
Why do you want to study law?
I have seen people regain hope when they realise the law can work for them. That changed my view of justice. The law can restore as well as punish. Studying law is the next step in that transformation.
What do you hope to gain from the degree?
Legal understanding that shapes both thinking and character, and insight into how justice systems evolve so I can apply those lessons where access to justice is limited.
What do you want to do after qualifying?
Join the Justice Defenders legal team, strengthen fair trial rights, expand access to legal support inside prisons, and mentor future paralegals.
Wanjiku Patrick Mwangi
Location: Murang’a Main Prison
Joined Justice Defenders: 2022
Why do you want to study law?
To understand the law more deeply and use it as a tool for justice. I have seen legal knowledge restore dignity for people facing the justice system alone.
What do you hope to gain from the degree?
Practical legal knowledge I can apply directly to casework inside prison, connecting study with real legal practice.
What do you want to do after qualifying?
Support people who face the courts without representation, promote fair legal processes, and contribute to a justice system that restores as well as holds to account.
Legal education inside prisons proves that justice can be rebuilt from the inside out. When people with lived experience gain the tools of the law, they transform themselves, their communities, and the system itself moves.
This programme continues because a committed community stands behind it. Legal education is funded, not by chance, but by people who believe the law belongs to all of us.
Fuel legal education inside prisons. Powering those most affected to defend themselves and others.