Latest News

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?

Covid-19 response: a message for our community

Hear from our Founder, Alexander McLean, on how we're navigating this COVID-19 pandemic.

Welcome to our 2020 Secondees!

A warm welcome to our 2020 Secondees, senior African justice officials who join us from Kenya and Uganda for a 3-month professional development programme, in partnership with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.

World Day Against The Death Penalty 2019: a day of solidarity

This year, 10th October 2019, marked the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty.There are not many occasions when a representative from the Vatican sits to break bread with criminalized individuals. And yet, last month, our team in Uganda hosted a Solidarity Visit to the condemn section at Luzira Upper Prison, Uganda, to mark this date as part of EU global outreach. Amongst those attending were a . The delegation was led by EU Ambassador to Uganda, H.E Attilio Pacifici, and included Ambassadors and representatives from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Iceland, Norway and the Vatican.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 2019

Although women and girls account for a far smaller share of total homicides than men, they bear by far the greatest burden of intimate partner/family‐related homicide, and intimate partner homicide.

Morris Kaberia’s visit to South Africa (INN)

The was a gathering of individuals and organisations representing the work of justice reform, from around the world. Read more about his experience.

First impressions of life in prison

My first time visiting prison in Uganda was anything but what I expected…

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.

“My 13-year imprisonment was a setup. They never wanted us to get married.”

Despite having the paperwork to prove Emily’s age and his innocence, Simon was convicted of aggravated defilement. No court would hear his appeal, so Simon spent 13 years in prison for a crime he, and Emily, says he didn’t commit. 

The law: Enforcing it, breaking it, studying it. One man's journey

When he used to work as a police officer, Gilbert would take people to prison with little thought about fair trials or sentencing. Until he found himself in conflict with the law he once administered. 

What's the impact of a university degree, if you still have many years left in prison?

Degrees mean extra responsibilities. Four students and graduates in Kenya and Uganda have been promoted to the highly trusted position of 'trusteeship'.

Reconciliation of self and community

Amateur chef Pepe Ivan Matovu recalls how he found hope, healing and restoration in one of Uganda’s most populous prisons.

Adapting to the pandemic: Reconnecting people in prisons with their loved ones.

For people in prison, visits from family used to offer a moment of reassurance. Connection with the outside world. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, visitations are paused. Isolating many from those they love. Until recently. We’ve worked to repurpose our technology and reconnect families in Kenya.

A family confronting adversity

James’s story brings home the devastating impact of injustice. Arrested along with his mother and brother, their freedom wasn’t the only thing that was taken from them. The family lost their land. A valuable resource which enabled James to feed his children.

“You are successful when you remember that somewhere, someone gave you a gift.”

Sentenced to death for robbery, Joyce tried not to let her sentence define her. While in prison, she found a new love for making clothes.

Paralegals in Kenya and Uganda receive training on bail and appeal procedures from legal experts

Magistrates and legal experts from across the judiciary have come together to share their practical knowledge. Ensuring trainees are immersed into the legal world, even from behind prison bars.