The silent scourge: a call for outlawing marital rape in Kenya

Introduction Rape is defined as an unlawful sexual activity that involves engaging in sexual activity against the victim’s will by using force or the threat of using force, or with a person who is unable to give informed consent because they are a minor, have a mental health condition, are intoxicated, are unconscious, or are […]

Human Rights, Issue 88 - May 2023, Medical & Health
May 02, 2023
167 views 37 mins 0

The impact of Kenya’s drug policies on human rights: An analysis of the consequences of criminalizing drug use

Introduction The drug problem refers to the widespread use and abuse of illegal drugs, prescription drugs, and other substances with negative physical, mental and health consequences. Communally it has had the effect of destroying relationships such as family and friends. It also ruins one’s capability of working and studying which makes society’s economic status plummet […]

Justifying gender equality in electoral politics:  is the quota system the solution?

Given that it has been argued that the main impediment to gender equality in electoral politics is patriarchal politics, most gender equality projects involve the implementation of gender quotas to increase the number of women leaders. Within the use of quotas to promote gender parity emerges the configuration of women as marginalized groups who require […]

Human Rights, Issue 88 - May 2023, The Judiciary
May 02, 2023
92 views 24 mins 0

Right to silence: analysis of the legal protection on the privilege against self-incrimination

This paper will try to debunk the maxim “nemo tenetur seipsum accusare,” which means “no man is bound to accuse himself”. In doing so, the paper will analyze the scope and the implication of the right against self-incrimination as has been examined in different contexts, its impact on criminal proceedings and its waiver thereof.  An arrested person […]

Constitutional Law, Family Law, Issue 88 - May 2023
May 02, 2023
124 views 20 mins 0

Call a jack a jack, call a spade a spade: The need to rethink the Family Protection Bill, 2023

The Bill further states that it aims to preserve and protect the cultural and family values of the Kenyan people against emerging threats; and, to uphold Article 44 of the Constitution which provides that “a person shall not compel another person to perform, observe or undergo any cultural practice and rite”.[1] In my opinion, this […]

Editorial, Issue 85 - Feb 2023, Opinions, The Judiciary
January 31, 2023
497 views 5 mins 0

Judges of Specialised Courts Deserve Equal Treatment

The 2010 Constitution sought to re-imagine our judicial system by establishing specialized courts with the same status as the High Court. Kenyans felt that the areas of employment and labour relations, and the environment and land disputes deserve special and focused attention, beyond the general approach to all other disputes. Given the centrality of these […]

Constitutional Law, Family Law, Issue 85 - Feb 2023
January 31, 2023
362 views 15 mins 0

Equality in marriage and the limits of transformative constitutionalism: The Kenyan Supreme Court’s judgment in Ogentoto vs Ogentoto

The roots of the controversy lie in the patriarchal structures of our world. It is an incontrovertible fact that in most societies, men hold a disproportionate share of immovable property (for the gendered skew in Kenya, see here). The reasons for these are both historical (dating back to times when women were legally barred from […]

Time to rethink strategies for combating Gender Based Violence (GBV); Legislation is not enough

Whereas the Constitution of Kenya[3] protects children and women[4] from abuse, harmful cultural practices, and all forms of violence, and though Kenya has enacted legislation to protect the children[5] and has prohibited forms of violence such as Female Genital Mutilation,[6] the gruesome reports in our media platforms is a clear indication that a lot is […]