Address: Ole Sangale Road, off Langata Road, Madaraka Estate, Nairobi, Kenya.
Location: Strathmore University, Madaraka, Sangale Campus,Central Building.
The advent of the knowledge age has transformed higher education. Ease of access to information and knowledge has translated into a change of focus of university education from a quest for knowledge to the acquisition and enhancement of skills. Legal education is accordingly undergoing a paradigm shift. Indeed, one of the ways instructors have adopted in order to adapt to the prevailing environment in higher learning is to embrace experiential learning in the form of clinical legal education. The incorporation of clinical experience into the law curriculum has addressed the need to bridge the gap between theoretical legal knowledge and practical application with the aim of equipping students with the skills necessary to provide just legal solutions and address the socio-economic realities of their
society.
Background
In recognition of this need, the instructor of Family Law and Law of Succession in the LL.B programme at Strathmore University Law School, in collaboration with the Strathmore Law Clinic, inaugurated the Clinical Learning Project (CLP) as a mode of assessment during the 2022/2023 academic year.
Under the CLP, students provide legal aid services to members of the public drawn from low-income communities. This is done under the supervision and guidance of qualified advocates and faculty members, ensuring both professional standards and meaningful learning outcomes.
Project Implementation: Academic Year 2024/2025
During the 2024/2025 academic year, the CLP will continue to operate in partnership with advocates from the Pro Bono Institute of Kenya (PBIK), alongside other advocates offering support in either a corporate or personal capacity.
The Project will involve two key activities, conducted on separate days:
A public baraza aimed at sensitising community members on inheritance and succession law; and
A legal aid clinic providing tailored legal advice and enabling the screening of matters eligible for legal aid.
The Project will run throughout the academic year, structured as follows:
First Semester (2 July 2024 – 14 October 2024): Project design and preparation
Second Semester (12 November 2024 – 28 February 2025): Project implementation
Skills Acquired by Students
Contribution to Society
Expands legal support to low-income communities that would otherwise be unable to afford or access legal services
Educates communities on inheritance rights and legal processes to prevent disputes and exploitation.
Enables individuals to make informed decisions and assert their legal rights confidently.
Instils a service-oriented mindset among future legal professionals and strengthens commitment to public interest law.
Encourages the use of dialogue, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution to resolve conflicts amicably and sustainably.
The end Goal of the Project
- To facilitate access to justice to low-income communities who are unable to obtain the requisite legal support in an area of law as pertinent to the life of a Kenyan as is succession and inheritance law through providing legal aid in the form of legal advice and, where appropriate and possible, legal assistance to pursue the matter to its conclusion through litigation or alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
- As a delivery and assessment teaching and learning method that is aimed at bridging the gap between theoretical legal knowledge and practical application in real life scenarios. In addition, the learners are given an opportunity to identify and evaluate areas of law reform within the law of succession.
Get in touch with us
Phone
Dr. Jeniffer Gitahi
Director, Clinical Learning Project
wgitahi@strathmore.edu