Colonialism, Criminal Law, and the Dustbin of History - On Kenya’s Subversion Judgment

Abstract

In a ruling that is important beyond Kenya, the Kenyan High Court has delivered a milestone judgment. By striking down a provision of the Kenyan Criminal Code on subversion, the Court takes a significant step towards further doing away with the colonial legacy in the Kenyan legal system. The judgment exemplifies how judges in postcolonial contexts interpret the law against the backdrop of the country’s history.

Keywords

• Criminal Law
• History
• Kenia
• Subversion
• Transformative Constitutionalism
• colonialism