LLB Research Projects (2019)

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    A Critical analysis of Article 63(1) of the constitution of Kenya: vesting community land rights on urban communities
    (Strathmore University, 2019) Nabang'i, Carey Barasa
    Land is critical to the economic, social and cultural development of Kenya. 1 Land is also an emotive issue and it was at the core of the resistance to British rule during the struggle for independence.2 Before colonisation, native communities owned land communally through the commons proprietary system.3 The arrival of the Arab traders and British colonialists led to large scale disruption of this system and the introduction of foreign land tenure systems that were alien to the native inhabitants ofKenya.4 After independence, the independence government further neglected community land by not providing it with adequate protection which was as a result of not putting in place adequate laws that would grant it legal recognition. 5 Despite all these, the commons proprietary system remained resilient and did not succumb to the onslaught of suppression and subversion. 6 In 2010 Kenya promulgated a new Constitution and one of its salient features was the recognition of community land.7 Furthermore, the Constitution provides that community land shall vest in communities identified on the basis of ethnicity, culture or a similar community of interest. 8 This dissertation seeks to examine the efficiency of vesting community land on urban communities identified on the basis of a similar community of interest as opposed to culture and ethnicity.
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    Expanding the scope of sexual harassment laws in Kenya: a legal scrutiny of the adequacy of the laws dealing with sexual harassment
    (Strathmore University, 2019) Thuku, Faith Muthoni
    Sexual harassment IS a violation of human dignity and this paper seeks to analyse the adequacy of sexual harassment laws in Kenya. In doing so, the researcher shall indeed prove that there is a gap in sexual harassment laws in Kenya and illustrate the need for a wider understanding of sexual harassment. Specifically, this paper shall champion for the recognition of various contexts in which sexual harassment can take place, in addition to those that the current legal framework has envisioned. The primary question that drives this research is: What definition and contexts of sexual harassment need to be recognised by the law, in order to provide a legal framework that not only provides recourse for survivors of sexual harassment, but also upholds human dignity and gender equality In order to properly answer the research question, the research shall be conducted using the qualitative research model through desktop research. A comparative study against Australia shall also be conducted in order to contrast the current legal framework in Kenya. It is in doing so that the gaps in the Kenyan law will be realised. Ultimately, the end goal for this research paper is to identify the gaps within the Kenyan law and propose ways in which the identified gaps can be filled thus expanding the current provisions of sexual harassment within the Kenyan law.
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    Intent to destroy an ethnic group: a failed promise of in Dubio Pro Reo?
    (Strathmore University, 2019) Kitur, Roy
    " ... the crime of genocide is singled out for special condemnation and opprobrium. The crime is horrific in its scope; its perpetrators identify entire human groups for extinction. Those who devise and implement genocide seek to deprive humanity of the manifold richness its nationalities, races, ethnicities and religions provide. This is a crime against all of humankind, its harm being felt not only by the group targeted for destruction, but by all of humanity ... "2 The year 1948 brought with it the Convention on the Prevention on Punishment of the crime of Genocide (hereinafter the Convention), the first form of codification of law with regards to the crime of genocide.3 Subsequent statutes like the Rome Statute4, the ICTR statute5 and the ICTY statute 6 borrow the language put down in the Convention verbatim. Naturally, one would conclude that the considerations and conclusions of the drafters of the Genocide Convention were indeed the most universally accepted such that subsequent drafters adopted their language almost entirely.7
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    Assessing the infringement of copyright in light of the defense of fair dealing in the digital age of photography
    (Strathmore University, 2019) Siganga, Christopher
    Photography is described as the art of taking photographs of different subjects which may include people, buildings, food, cars and other objects. Photography is also referred to as an original art, and, within the Kenyan Jurisdiction, arts of a photographic nature are protected by The CA of Kenya1 as well as the CoK2• However, with the advancements in technology and the digital media age where image sharing is encouraged across different platforms, there has been an increase in the risk involved with photographs and photographer's rights being infringed upon by others. This is aggravated by the fact that there is a sense of ignorance amongst the photographer community about the law and how they can protect the rights that are given to them by the CA of Kenya as well as the CoK.
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    The Use of expert testimony on the Battered Woman Syndrome in the criminal justice system
    (Strathmore University, 2019) Ayako, Timothy Ombachi
    This project seeks to analyse the use of expert testimony on the Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) in cases involving women who have killed their abusive husbands. This dissertation scrutinises case law and statutes in two jurisdictions that have allowed BWS testimony to be presented in criminal proceedings: USA and Canada while also assessing the Kenyan criminal justice system and how it handles cases involving battered women who kill their abusive spouses. This study finds that BWS testimony has been used successfully in the said jurisdictions to help courts understand the battered woman's mind-set. The study further establishes that Kenya's approach to the defense of self-defense is insensitive to the realities of abused women.