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From out-of-sight corridors of East Africa’s prisons, justice systems are being transformed. People who have suffered at the hands of the law are using the legal knowledge acquired behind bars to challenge the very laws that once failed them.
Across much of Africa, the law remains stuck in the past. In Kenya and Uganda, many legal frameworks still reflect colonial-era structures—rigid, outdated, and out of step with the lived realities of the people they serve. But our community is reshaping them from the inside out, leveraging lived experience to dismantle the barriers that preserve defencelessness through strategic litigation.
strategic litigation
/strəˈtiː.dʒɪk ˌlɪ.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/
noun
The pursuit of individual legal cases designed to bring about broader social change—exposing injustice, raising public awareness, and ultimately shifting laws, policies, and practices.
Since 2017, our community across Kenya and Uganda has been actively shaping the future of justice through bold, precedent-setting petitions. At Justice Defenders, strategic litigation isn’t carried out by far-removed experts in distant courtrooms. It is led by the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated paralegals and lawyers we train, support, and stand beside every day—who are seeing and rewriting the future of justice through eyes that have cried.
Turning Petitions into Precedent
In recent months, we’ve laid the groundwork for several bold legal challenges—petitions born not in law schools, but in prison yards and crowded cells.
At Thika Main Prison, a team of incarcerated paralegals led by University of London graduate George Gatimu is challenging the burden of proof requirements in the Sexual Offences Act, which conflict with Section 124 of the Evidence Act on corroboration. In Murang’a Main, another team—led by graduate Francis Munyao—is drafting a petition contesting how the law defines the age of consent and applies sentencing in sexual offence cases.
These are complex, often controversial legal questions. But we believe that by taking on the issues others avoid, we can bring change where it’s most needed.
What Success Looks Like
Our strategic litigation journey has already seen landmark victories.
The Muruatetu Petition, which successfully challenged the mandatory death penalty, set a powerful precedent—rippling across other capital offences like robbery with violence and sexual assault. Though its outcomes sparked debate and triggered an appeal in 2024, the impact is undeniable: a long-overdue conversation about judicial discretion is now underway.
We’ve also made strides in confronting mandatory minimums under the Sexual Offences Act. Our successful 2022 petition opened the door for resentencing of people previously convicted under rigid sentencing guidelines. While this, too, is now under appeal, we remain hopeful that the principle of discretion will be upheld.
Standing with the Defenceless
Some of our most groundbreaking work has focused on people with mental illness—those too often forgotten by the justice system.
In Uganda, our persistent advocacy led to the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights prioritising justice for the mentally ill. As a result, nearly all mental health-related cases at Luzira Upper Prison have now been reviewed. In Kenya, we’re pushing implementation forward. One example: Isaac Momanyi, once held under Presidential Pleasure in Kamiti Maximum Prison, had no defined sentence. After we brought his case to court, he received a 20-year sentence—with less than two years left to serve.
In February 2024, our petitioning efforts helped secure the release of Kibirigye Habibu, who had spent 15 years in prison despite being declared unfit to stand trial. He is now receiving permanent treatment at Butabika Hospital. Dozens of other cases—some held for up to 28 years without trial—have now been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions, with freedom finally on the horizon for many.
A Justice Movement from Within
Behind each of these cases are paralegals, clients, and prison officers working shoulder to shoulder. They are building petitions not just to win individual freedoms, but to reshape entire legal systems.
This is strategic litigation from the margins. From the very people the system was built to exclude. And in the months ahead, we anticipate critical milestones as we expand this work across East Africa.
Justice reform is not easy. It is slow, unsung work. It is layered. It is personal. But at Justice Defenders, we believe that justice can rise from the most unlikely places. That from the harshest conditions, something extraordinary can grow.
We’re not just navigating the system—we’re rewriting it. One petition at a time.
Dare to believe that you too can play a part in creating a world where justice exists for everyone.