Long form essays on the questions Kenyans most commonly face. Salary unpaid. Arrest without cause. A landlord changing the locks. A small claim filed without an advocate. Each piece is grounded in the operative statute, and each one is written to be read on the device a Kenyan actually owns.
The Constitution made a promise in 2010. Most Kenyans have never seen it kept. The country has been treating legal information as a privilege the courts grant to those who can afford a translator. It was always meant to be a public good.
The legal profession has long treated personal appearance as a fallback for those who cannot afford counsel. Article 50(2)(g) of the Constitution and Section 20 of the Small Claims Court Act, No. 2 of 2016, both name it differently. An argument for taking the text seriously, and for retiring the assumption that justice without an advocate is justice cheapened.
Filed quietly into the statute books in 2016, then operationalised across all forty seven counties between 2021 and 2024, the Small Claims Court is the most significant access to justice reform of the past generation. Most Kenyans who would benefit from it have never heard of it. Let us fix that.
The first hour after an arrest is when most rights are lost, not because the law fails the person, but because the person does not know the law. The Constitution drew the line in 2010. The line has not moved. Knowing where it sits, in advance, is what separates a brief misunderstanding from a long detention.
An unpaid month of rent is not a licence for self help. Kenyan law gives a landlord several remedies for arrears, and a small number of them are even sensible. Changing the locks while the tenant is at work is not on the list. Here is the framework, and here is what to do when you come home and find your key no longer fits.
An employer who refuses to pay is not exercising discretion. The Employment Act, Number 11 of 2007, treats unpaid wages as a statutory wrong with a clear remedy and a fast forum. A practical walkthrough for the worker who has been told to come back next week, again.
For a focused answer on Kenyan law, open the assistant. For the full picture, stay and read another briefing.