This past week, Kabarak University School of Law took a major step forward as we piloted one of the flagship modules for our upcoming Master of Laws (LLM) in Judicial Science: The African Feminist Judgments Project: Rethinking Law Through a Gendered Lens.
The full LLM program will feature nine distinct modules, but testing this specific topic on the ground gave us a direct look at what happens when theory meets practice.
Hosted jointly at the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) in Nairobi and our own campus, the pilot brought together a cohort of 25 participants from seven African countries. The room brought together men and women from across the legal spectrum: judges, magistrates, legal researchers, and practitioners, all willing to interrogate how judicial decisions shape, and are shaped by, power and gender.
The facilitation team brought deep institutional and academic insight to the table, including Supreme Court Justice Hon. Justice (Dr.) Smokin Wanjala, CBS, former Chief Justice Prof. Willy Mutunga, alongside Prof. Ambreena Manji, Prof. John Osogo Ambani, Ms. Melissa Mungai, Dr. Rosemary Mwanza, and other distinguished scholars. Discussions ranged from foundational legal theory to critical re-examinations of landmark African jurisprudence, such as the Wambui Otieno case, using feminist, decolonial, and interactive approaches like zines and judgment-rewriting workshops.
Rather than standard lectures, the sessions relied on multimedia methods, interactive critique, and hands-on rewriting exercises. Feedback from attendees was immediate: many noted that the approach fundamentally challenged how they analyze precedent and structure legal reasoning.
We extend our sincere thanks to every judge, practitioner, researcher, and partner organization, including Cardiff University, Katiba Institute, KJA, and BIEA, who contributed to making this pilot a success.
As we prepare for the full launch of the LLM in Judicial Science, seeing how these concepts resonate in real-time confirms the need for this curriculum.
More updates to come soon...
