Reflections on the Implementation of Clinical Legal Education in Moi University, Kenya

Abstract

Clinical legal education has been defined simply as learning law by doing law. 1 It is a method of instruction in which students engage in varying degrees in the actual practice of the law. Students get the opportunity to apply the theoretical aspects of their training to real life or simulated situations. 2 In Kenya, legal education has over the years been imparted by way of the traditional lecture method. This has mainly been theoretical with little or no attention being paid to the practical aspects of the law and the legal profession. It is only recently that the importance of incorporating practical skills began to be recognised. This recognition can be traced back to the year 1994 following the establishment of the Moi University Faculty of Law (the faculty). In this work the author intends to examine the challenges faced by the faculty in its quest to incorporate the clinical based approach into its curriculum. In doing so, the author will have to examine the basis upon which the faculty’s CLE is grounded and the method used by the faculty implementing it. An assessment will be made of the specific successes and challenges faced by the faculty in implementing the programme and lastly recommendations to improve its operation will be made. Though references will be drawn from other jurisdictions in certain instances, the author will confine himself within the subject of this work, i.e, CLE in Moi University, Kenya.