Trained prison paralegals leave mark in the corridors of justice

Dismas Ayoo at the Mombasa Law Courts on July 27. Mr Ayoo is a former chairman of the Shimo la Tewa Paralegal Association, which is behind a successful petition that gave prisoners the right to vote. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

The name of Dismas Omondi Ayoo, a former death row convict, may not ring a bell in the minds of many Kenyans but he is considered a democrat by thousands of inmates who will vote in next year’s polls.

In 2010, Ayoo and 29 other convicts at the Shimo la Tewa Prison filed a petition through Kitua Cha Sheria that saw the High Court allow prisoners to vote in the constitutional referendum and presidential elections.