RLS Stakeholders Consultative Forum

On Thursday, May 12, 2016, the Riara Law School held a Stakeholder’s Consultative Forum at the Riara University premises.The key purpose of the forum was to engage in curriculum review and development of a potential niche area for the Law School as requested by the Council of Legal Education (CLE).

The Vice Chancellor of Riara University, Prof. Robert Gateru commenced the forum by giving an overview of Riara University, and the Dean of the Law School, Prof. Sylvia Kang’ara thereafter gave an overview of the bold pedagogy of Riara Law School, as well as the current LLB curriculum and also spent some time articulating potential interpretations of the term niche, thus setting the stage for group and plenary discussion.

The key note speaker at the event was the distinguished Dr. Gibson Kamau Kuria who has published widely on constitutionalism, rule of law, human rights, legal education, family law, and succession. He received the Robert F. Kennedy award in 1988 for his role in fighting for the enforcement of human rights in Kenya, and has received numerous other accolades throughout his career.The forum was enriched by the diversity of the stakeholders with wide representation from the judiciary, government commissions such as the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Kenya Law Reform Commission, academia and the practicing bar.

The discussion revolved around three key areas:
a) What is the current state of existing LLB curricula – at RU and elsewhere?
b) What are the new trends in knowledge, competencies, skills and attitudes in the legal profession today?
c) What niche areas should RLS focus on in the short term and long term?

The attendees were divided into various groups each charged with the responsibility of addressing one of the key questions outlined above. The groups thereafter presented their findings and recommendations to the plenary. After a robust discussion by the plenary the forum ended with a presentation on the way forward by the Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic Affairs, Prof. Faith Nguru.