Latest News

An update on our work during Covid-19

With Covid-19 cases on the rise in East Africa, Justice Defenders Country Directors Karen Saidi and Miriam Wachira provide an insight into how our work has been affected.

Justice Defenders' students are shortlisted in the Nelson Mandela Moot Court Competition

Having successfully progressed to the next round, Justice Defenders’ students will compete against teams from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

Six factors you need to deliver justice

Through exploring our work, Former Commissioner with the UK’s aid watchdog Diana Good identifies the principles needed to deliver justice.

2020 Virtual Carol Service

In 2020, we celebrated our annual carol service virtually with our communities in Uganda, Kenya, the U.S., and UK.

12 days, 12 prison communities.

Prisons are mostly hidden places, unseen and rarely talked about. So we want to take you inside 12 of the prison communities where our defenders live and work. When you look into these prisons, you will see stark realities. But also resilience, courage, and untapped potential. Like leadership skills in the prison staff room. And determination on death row. Our hope is for a world where each of us is equally accountable to and protected by the law.

A chapter of progress, despite the pain.

In a world that seems more connected and divided than ever before, our defenders are using this unique chapter in history to keep the wheels of justice turning.

Black Lives Matter: the role of Justice Defenders in advancing racial equality

Reflections from our founder on our work, the ethos of BLM, and our global reckoning of the costs of racial inequality.

Covid-19 response: a three-part plan

Our response to the pandemic will be three-fold: a fines fund, tech advocacy, and sanitation partnerships.

Covid-19 response: reflections on the lockdown

We’re asking ourselves: what does it look like to radically decongest prisons at this time?

Catching up with paralegals in The Gambia one year on.

Hear from three of our paralegals in The Gambia, as we celebrate a year of our work in the country.

Poem: A call to bridge the path towards justice.

A message of hope in Uganda from Alex Byamukama.

A day in the life of a Justice Defenders Legal Officer: Kenneth Kugonza in Uganda

Kenneth Kugoza works in mid-central Uganda, helping those facing injustice. He shares how he spends his day across multiple prisons.

Allyship beyond perceived differences.

Three prison officers overcome perceived differences in service of those in prison. This unique show of solidarity is truly what makes the fabric of our community a unique tapestry of allies.

Reforming the Sexual Offences Act: securing proportionate sentencing.

Success as Justice Defenders paralegals ensure judges are able to use their discretion to sentence people convicted of sexual offences.

The unlikely activists. Reforming the criminal justice system from behind prison bars.

Success as Justice Defenders paralegals secure rights for suspects with mental disabilities.

Fighting for the rights of mothers with postpartum depression.

Rose, like many mothers across the world, experienced depression. With a lack of medical care, she was treated unfairly by the law. Thanks to our work, she is reunited with her daughter.

From death row to presidential palaces. One woman’s incredible fight for justice.

Having graduated with a law degree while incarcerated, Susan now travels the world campaigning against the death sentence.

Punitive sentencing for petty offences; vestiges of colonial times.

In East Africa young people are persistently caught up in drug trafficking, loitering and pickpocketing charges, resulting in long periods in prison. Here Draconian laws still apply, yet to be reviewed for the 21st Century. So laws often criminalise and marginalise the people with least in society.