How Kenyas Jailhouse Lawyer Turned A Life Sentence Into A Legal Career Behind Bars

After being incarcerated for murdering her partner, Ruth Kamande studied the legal system to understand her own case. Now she is fighting to reform Kenyas laws It is a cool, overcast morning in Nairobi, and Ruth Kamande is in front of a computer, deep in concentration. Next to her is a thick red hardback book entitled Laws of Kenya. Kamande, 30, a diminutive figure in a stripy black and white tunic dress, graduated with a University of London LLB law degree in 2024, and works with incarcerated women. Her office, a small light and airy room that she shares with about 10 others, is in Langata maximum security womens prison where she is serving a life sentence for murder. I used to admire lawyers very much, she says. It impressed me when I saw them in movies fighting big cases, but also for people in society who are marginalised. I didnt know that one day, in very difficult and unusual circumstances, I would become one. Kamande, a prisoner at Langata maximum-security womens prison in Kenya, has successfully helped other incarcerated women win cases