Leveraging the local administration to engender access to justice in Kenya: the case of Mukuru Kayaba Informal Settlement, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Constitutional change in Kenya has opened up spaces of contestation of rights for citizens. However, marginalisation of certain segments of the population remains a key constraint to achieving universal protections. A lack of awareness and capacity of both citizens and the government hinders the advancement of the goals to lift the standards of all the citizens. There has been the extension of the rights to the individual to cover political, economic, social, economic and cultural rights. Communities living in informal settlements face extreme margin alisa tion which is vividly expressed in the lack of access to justice. This is specifically difficult for women and children as they face social, cultural and economic constraints. Using Mukuru Kayaba informal settlement as a case study, this article will examine how the place and status of the local administration can be leveraged and negotiated to secure access to justice for women and children. Secondary data will be analysed and presented narratively. This is to contribute to the debate on effectively engendering access to justice for women and children ; it is especially important at the grassroots level where women and children may lack the capacity to seek redress from other sourc