Country Demographics:

• Population:  32 million
• Religions:  Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, Indigenous beliefs 10%, Other 2%
• Income Per Capita:  $336.85 year/ $0.94 day
• Government Type:  Republic
  Chief of State:  President Mwai KIBAKI (since December 2002)
  Note:  The president is both the chief of state and head of government

Legal Profession:

• Estimated number of lawyers in Kenya is 4,000
• Estimated number of believers involved in the legal profession is 350-400
• The name of the local Christian group is Kenya Christian Lawyers Fellowship (KCLF).  It was organized in 1990 and is currently led by JusticeDaniel Musinga.  KCLF has a network of 150 Christian lawyers.

Major Activities of Christian Lawyers:

KCLF’s lawyers are involved in the following activities:

• Organizing formal evangelistic events
• Meeting for Bible studies
• Providing legal aid programs for juveniles
• Offering civic educational programs, especially for prisoners and offenders
• Advocating human rights in the country (with an emphasis on prisoners’ rights)
• Participating in legal cases on behalf of various indigent persons
• Weekly prison visits and prisoner interviews

Convocation Goals:

• The lawyers from KCLF consider Advocates International’s Global Convocation an important event for spiritually uplifting the group’s leaders and giving them a perspective on Advocates’ global impact.  Furthermore, it will enable the Kenyan lawyers to build networks with participating country representatives and provide them with time for personal reflection.

Prayer Items:

• God’s leadership in the ongoing constitutional reform process
• For members to become more actively involved in KCLF activities
• God’s continued blessings on the Christian lawyers of Kenya and their work

Contact Information:

• Paul Ndemo pndemodestiny@yahoo.com

ªKenya In Actionª

It has been said that justice in Kenya is open to all, but the lack of a public defender system and widespread poverty means that over 70% of people in remand and in prison are not represented during their trials and massive injustices occur.   The response is CLEAR, a KCLF program:  Extensive civic education in prisons to build capacity for self-representation and pro-bono representation in gross violation cases by a team of dedicated volunteers.  DuringSeptember and November of this year (2004), KCLF will be broadcasting four times per week on a Christian radio station, providing legal instruction to residents of the capital city Nairobi and its environs. 

Members of the fellowship have also been actively involved in the ongoing national constitutional review process.  Particularly challenging is an obvious bias towards Islam in the draft constitution.  KCLF is fighting for more religious equality, a topic already contemplated in drafts.  Working for justice in Kenya—easy: no, challenging: yes, fulfilling: absolutely!