“Justice be our shield and defender”: Local justice mechanisms and fair trial rights in Kenya

This study focuses on the procedures of determining disputes in the local justice system of the Maasai in Kajiado town, Kenya, in order to determine the extent to which fair trial rights exist and are upheld within the process.

By exploring how the local justice mechanisms work, it delves into an assessment of the human rights principles associated with fair trials that are visible in the system.

It is the author's hope that the study will contribute to strengthening the administration of justice in Kenya in a number of ways:

1. To generate knowledge on local justice mechanisms and access to justice. The judiciary has prioritised local access to justice. I anticipate that the knowledge gained from this study will contribute to discussions on access to justice, including incorporating values and processes derived from local justice mechanisms into the understanding of justice;
2. To deepen the understanding of justice at community level in view of devolved government structures, prioritisation of human rights within the Constitution and the greater reach of the judiciary into communities to contribute more to the dispensation of justice;
3. To contribute to the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies’ (CHRIPS) research and work aimed at improving local accountability and access to justice;
4. To shape NGO advocacy and government policies towards enabling actors to adopt more an open-minded approach to local justice mechanisms and move beyond stereotypes that have been associated with local justice mechanisms by providing greater insight into their contribution to justice in the community; and
5. To trigger deeper studies on local justice processes and the substantive outcomes of justice processes in the community as well as the formal system. This is important as Kenya endeavours to develop a strong, representative democracy.

About the author

Eva A. Maina Ayiera is a lawyer and Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. With a focus on human rights governance and democracy particularly in Africa, she has worked extensively on questions of justice, rights and law in Kenya and Africa. Eva is a researcher with the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS) in Nairobi, an independent and innovative think tank engaged in the search for local solutions to the urgent problems of the day through local knowledge and the best of international ideas.