Festus Terer
Festus Terer is a Kenyan Resident Magistrate at the Milimani Children’s Court in Nairobi, renowned for re-imagining juvenile justice through restorative practice and technology. Since his 2020 posting he has introduced a Diversion Management System that links police, probation officers, and social workers online, enabling low-risk offenders to enter counseling and skills training instead of detention; more than 2,500 cases have been diverted with a 12 percent recidivism rate, down from 38 percent in 2019. He also piloted virtual child-sensitive hearings during the COVID-19 lockdowns, a model later adopted by the Judiciary’s e-justice programme.
Terer chairs the court’s Mental Health and Child Protection Taskforce, which partners with Kenyatta National Hospital to screen every litigant under sixteen for trauma and learning disorders. Beyond the bench, he founded the Afya Kijana Trust, funding school meals and legal-literacy clubs in Nairobi’s informal settlements, and mentors paralegal volunteers through the National Legal Aid Service.
He holds an LL.B. from Moi University and an LL.M. in Children’s Rights from the University of Pretoria. In 2024 the World Justice Project honoured him with the Justice Innovator Award, and he was selected to the inaugural Young African Magistrates Network, where he advocates for data-driven juvenile-court reforms across the continent.