All Updates
CNN Amanpour features Justice Defenders and paralegal Jane
One of our paralegals Jane shared her story with CNN International host Christiane Amanpour and our Founder Alexander McLean.
Read MoreCBS 60 Minutes features Justice Defenders
CNN News anchor Anderson Cooper traveled to Kenya to visit prison communities and see our work in legal education, training, and practise.
Read MorePR Newswire – 2020 Wise Awards Winners Announced
WISE, an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), has announced the winners of the 2020 WISE Awards, recognizing and promoting six innovative projects from across the world that address global educational challenges.
Read MoreNews Break – Alexander McLean named 2020 Grinnell Prize recipient
President Anne Harris announced on Wednesday that Alexander McLean, the founder and director general of international nonprofit organization Justice Defenders, has won the 2020 Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize.
Read MoreThe Sunday Times – The story of the Londoner bringing justice to East Africa
Justice Defenders enlists lawyers, prison officers, judges and British universities to provide legal training to inmates — some barely educated — so they can become their own advocates.
Read MoreTuko – Kamiti Prison: 10 inmates graduate with law degrees
At least 17 inmates, police officers and former convicts graduated from the Kamiti Maximum Prison in Nairobi with law degrees from the University of London on Thursday, October 31.
Read MoreForbes – Our world becomes rich when we don't write people off
In this Q&A, McLean talks about the project’s work, the loneliness of leadership and what we can learn from those living in poverty.
Read MorePascal 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’.
Read MoreA 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
Read MoreRelease: 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.
Read MoreWhen 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.
Read MoreGraduates: 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.
Read MoreFrom 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.
Read More“I always looked forward to proving society wrong.”
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.
Read MorEExpanding outside of prisons. Disrupting the poverty-to-prison pipeline in Nairobi.
The lack of meaningful access to justice impacts nearly two of every three people worldwide. The cost is greatest for those with the least. Our first-ever legal office, based outside of a prison, is a game-changer.
Read MorEPoem: A call to bridge the path towards justice.
A message of hope in Uganda from Alex Byamukama.
Read MorEA 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.
Read MorEAllyship 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.
Read MorEReforming 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.
Read MorEThe unlikely activists. Reforming the criminal justice system from behind prison bars.
Success as Justice Defenders paralegals secure rights for suspects with mental disabilities.
Read MorE