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Graduate: James Osano

I get satisfaction from the fact that I am now able to help others, who like me, are in prison and cannot afford legal representation.

Pascal Kakuru: In His Own Words

There are many dates I will not forget.

Pascal Kakuru: The Law Graduate

If you see the bars, the walls... if you let yourself accept where you are, that is the end. If you asked me how I survived in prison, I don’t know, God knows’.

A Visitor’s Perspective: Pascal Kakuru

In 12 years Pascal has been more than a couple of hundred yards from the room in which he lives only once: the room is a prison cell in Upper Prison, the maximum security wing at Luzira, Kampala - Uganda

When Justice Is Served From Behind Bars

We share the stories of two more of our Graduates - Meschak Ouma and Philip Mueke - who have overcome great challenges to study the law and ensure that justice is served in Kenyan Prisons.

Release: John Bosco Oryem

As an inmate at Upper Prison, in his own words, Oryem said the need to study law was because of his desire to be able to defend the under-privileged population in the courts of law.

Graduates: Willis Ochieng and Peter Kago

Two of our Law Graduates from 2018 - Willis Ochieng and Peter Kago - have carried the roles of prisoner, paralegal, student and teacher. We might find this extraordinary but they are not unique.

From the Pain of Arrest to a Promising Future - One Man’s Story

In my time as a paralegal I have helped a number of inmates receive reduced sentences, while others have been acquitted.

Graduate: Joseph Karanja

Before prison, Joseph had always wanted to study law but had not met the qualifications needed to receive government sponsorship. In prison, his passion only grew deeper…

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.

“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. 

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.

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.

“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.