The report on the status of children in the justice system by the NCAJ Special Task Force on Children Matters reveals a broken chain-link that prevents children, both victims and accused, from exercising their rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Based on the analysis of experiential, administrative data from the National Police Service and the Judiciary, survey questionnaires and key informant interviews, the report asserts that though the child justice chain-link is broken at multiple points. It argues, however, that the broken chain-link can be fixed with vision, commitment, collaboration and political will. The report makes a call for seven key action points that must be urgently addressed in the best interest of children.
The report was written by Dr Sheila Wamahiu in collaboration with Kieya Kamau and Rose Kabata. Ernest Onguko of Jaslika provided data support.