2022
Status of the judiciary in Kenya
Country/area: Kenya
Organisation: Standard Group PLC
Organisation size: Big
Cover letter:
John Kamau Muthoni, 32, is a Kenyan journalist working with The Standard Group PLC. My assignment is to report stories from cases filed in Court and what is happening in the Kenya Judiciary.
I have been a court reporter for eight years and some of the stories I have reported include the extradition of druglords Ibrahim and Baktash Akasha to the United States of America, I also triggered the debate on lowering the consent from 18 to 16 from a court case and the battle to amend Kenya’s 2010 Consitution.
I am an all-around person who covers stories from family, crime, human rights, corruption, labor from cases filed before court I recently triggered another debate on a woman’s rights in matrimony after the High Court declared that even washing dishes is part of her contribution to a marriage. At the same time, I have persistently covered stories on how much spouses should share in matrimony after divorce.
The stories I am submitting for the award give a general picture of the country from court cases. The judiciary releases data which I analyze to get a true picture of what is happening in the country and in the judiciary.
Description of portfolio:
The stories I am submitting are from data received from Kenya. The data however gives a wider perspective on what is happening in Kenya.
Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, many Kenyans lost their jobs or had to close their businesses because of lockdown. It follows that rent cases shot up. At the same time, married couples breaking the law by marrying other lovers also shot up. This could be explained by the fact that there were those stuck together in their houses and needed ‘ a breaker’. Bigamy is illegal in Kenya and carries a 5 year prison term.
All this is contained in a booklet launched early on the status of the Kenya judiciary.
Project links:
www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001429594/rent-disputes-dominate-court-cases-report-says
