Articles & opinion
Articles written by AJRN members.
Public Perception of Kenya’s Judicial IndependenceLink opens in a new window
By Mikhail Nyamweya
Published on October 24, 2024
In recent years, the Kenyan judiciary has faced intensified scrutiny and criticism from political figures, reflecting a broader public distrust of the judiciary.
On “hanging out” with judges: Reflections on researching “up”Link opens in a new window
By Diana Kisakye
Published on 27 March 2024
My experience researching judicial empowerment in the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) was permeated with the challenges of accessing elites while “studying up.”
This article foregrounds the taken-for-granted informal approaches to accessing elites and reflects on the peculiarities of researching authoritative individuals who usually do not want to be studied.
Kenya’s courts were under political pressure: How a constitutional reform empowered judgesLink opens in a new window
By Thalia Gerzso
Published on October 31, 2023
Changes to Kenya’s constitution in 2010 on the independence of the judiciary created room for judges to act as guardians of the electoral process
Kenyans don’t trust the courts - the main factors behind this trendLink opens in a new window
By Gabrielle Lynch
Published on September 13, 2023
A new piece for The Conversation looking at why - despite widespread reforms, stand-out cases and largely positive personal experiences - public confidence in the Kenyan judiciary has decreased over the past 20 years. By Gabrielle Lynch.
Join the new African Judiciaries Research Network (AJRN) today!Link opens in a new window
By Gabrielle Lynch
Published in 2023
The new African Judiciaries Research Network (AJRN) seeks to connect researchers working on African judiciaries (from master’s and PhD candidates and postdocs to established academics and non-academic researchers) from around the world, encourage comparative analysis and lesson learning, and facilitate collaboration. As part of this initiative, AJRN has eamed up with Democracy in Africa to launch a new series of opinion pieces on African judiciaries and democracy