We attended the 2026 Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting in Fiji to share our model for justice reform and to convene ministers inside a prison for the very first time.

Meet Phionah. She is part of our unlikely community. Her commitment to justice led her to serve clients alongside fellow paralegals, both incarcerated women and prison officers.

Challenging Uganda’s laws, Justice Defenders helped end decades of indefinite detention for people with mental illness, securing releases, treatment, and long-overdue legal reform.

From prison yards to courtrooms, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated legal practitioners are using strategic litigation to reshape the law and expand justice for the defenceless.