Indigenous African Justice System: Enhancing Access to Justice to Redress Impunity in Kenya

Description

This book makes a case that the rule of law in Kenya is at cross-roads; first, because it is largely disconnected from the majority of people due to its Eurocentric orientation and, secondly, given its growing tendency to ignore the common good of society. Collectively, contributors to the book argue that traditional justice system has critical advantages, including the use of local languages, affordability, and relatively easy accessibility. The book provides vital data on how language, operating legal logic, accessibility, and cost inhibit access to justice for many Kenyans, especially those based in rural areas. The authors bring together systemic and multidisciplinary approaches to the study of indigenous justice systems and their applicability in Kenya in terms of enhancing delivery of justice.

Ochieng Lukes Ahaya holds B.Ed (Arts) degree from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. He also holds M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees in Religion both from Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. Dr. Ahaya is currently a Senior Lecturer and Chair of the Social Science Education Department at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). He has a bias towards Islamic and African Religious Studies, with particular reference to the general area of religion and social change. He has research interest in the area of evolving nature of religion in the public sphere.

Erick Ater Onyango is a Lecturer at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in the Department of Criminology and Social Work. He has a PhD in Sociology from Rongo University, specializing in Sociology of the Family and Social Protection, Master of Arts Degree in Sociology with specialization in Social Development and Management from Maseno University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Nairobi. His research is in the field of social policy with special references to child protection and the vulnerable population.

David Barasa is a Lecturer and Coordinator for Research and Publications at the Department of Language and Literature Education, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology. He has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Cape Town and is a graduate of the University of Nairobi and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology. His research is on the fields of Linguistics and Communication Studies, with special reference to language and communication, language documentation, language policy analysis, language contact and variation, and multilingualism.

Lucy Mandillah is a Lecturer, Deputy Director Institute of Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Studies and Chair of the Departmental Postgraduate Committee, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology. Lucy holds a PhD in English Language and Applied Linguistics, Masters of Arts in English and Linguistics and a B.Ed (Arts) in English language, Linguistics, Education and Literature from Kenyatta University. Lucy also has a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship experience from the University of Venda, South Africa. She has sustained a research focus on Language, Gender and Sexuality, Language Revitalization, Ethnography of Communication, Anthropological Linguistics, Eco-linguistics and Language Education.

Lydia Anyonje is the current Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology. Dr. Anyonje is also a Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. She is the Chairperson, Departmental Post Graduate Committee in the department. Lydia is a trainer, curriculum developer, researcher, coordinator university radio [103.9 MMUST FM] and public relations expert with research interests in training, new media, public relations, development communication, gender, indigenous knowledge, health and environmental communication, and African media practice. Her recent accomplishments include Principal Researcher, Media Research Project funded by the MMUST University Research Fund (URF)-2020-2021, Communication Consultant, Education Partnerships Africa (EPA)2018; Researcher, Cambridge-Africa Alborada Research Fund 2017/2018; and Communication Consultant, IDRC ( 2016). Dr. Anyonje is widely published in in the area of media and communications.