Latest News

Commonwealth Day 2019: Our Connection

The theme for 2019 is ‘’, which offers opportunities for individuals and organisations across the world to connect and work together.

International Women’s Day 2019

A call to action for the women and girls around the world who still experience inequality and injustice.

Our Students - A Force for Change

"I thank God. I actually don't have enough words to thank my tutors," Isaac Ndegwa LLB student. [Kenya]

Winners of the Google Impact Challenge Kenya

“We are changemakers. We are ordinary radicals. We are game changers. We are the African Prisons Project” Sheila Waruhiu.

What Happens After a Prisoner is Released?

"A few weeks ago, I went to receive Morris Kaberia, who was being released from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Nairobi…”

Youth Centre Opening Celebrated With Thanks

“This is what I have been waiting for since 2005. At last I have somewhere to go!” These were the grateful words spoken by Jessica, a young female resident of Luzira Prison Complex, Kampala.

Mandela International Day 2018

Nelson Mandela once said, "no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails."

Access to Justice in A "Peculiar Environment"

“Our hope is in you … APP has set a precedent in prison by piloting a prison-based Legal Aid clinic...”

Celebrating Change From Inside The Prison Walls

I’ve worked in prisons since I was 18. Death row inmates in Uganda call me ‘a prisoner by choice’.

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.

Law books fuel the defence

Inmates at Luzira Prison share how access to quality reading material has helped them prepare their defence for court.

Jane's story: From death row, to paralegal officer

As one of our trained paralegals in Langata Women's Prison in Kenya, Jane is enabling fellow incarcerated women to access essential legal services. Fostering hope for a more just world.

Annet spent 14 years dealing with the consequences of her husband's death sentence

“My husband committed a crime, so he had to pay for it. Though it put me in a difficult situation.”

Sarah spent more time in prison before her trial, than if she was sentenced

“Being in prison: days are like months and months are like years.”

Betty is close to completing her law degree from within prison

"Using the knowledge I have acquired from Justice Defenders, I managed to convince the judge in my appeal process, overturning my death sentence."

Release: Joseph Karanja, pioneer and free man

Joseph Karanja has spent 20 years in prison. He was arrested in 2000 and sentenced to death at his trial in 2001. However, in 2009 he was one of 4,000 prisoners whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.

Gilbert Niwamanya

Gilbert, aged 36, is the Welfare and Rehabilitation Officer at Luzira Maximum Security Prison, Kampala, where he’s worked for the past 5 years.

George Karaba

George has spent almost 20 years behind bars. Arrested in 2002, he was sentenced to death in 2006. This was commuted to a life sentence in 2009. In 2018 he graduated from the University of London with a Bachelor of Law degee [LLB], with support from our Justice Changemaker programme.