Democratizing Legal Information Across Africa: An Inside Look at Digitizing Local Content

Abstract

best interest to legally separate from him, her immediate concern is to ensure financial stability for herself and her children. Wanjiku travels a short distance from her home in Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum, to a local public library to research the rights of married women and alimony laws in Kenya. She is directed to the African Law Library (ALL), an online resource that grants her access to more than 35,000 Kenyan documents, including nearly 500 legal acts. She enters the keyword “separation,” which brings her to “Subordinate Courts (Separation and Maintenance) Act,” which states, “Any woman may apply to the court for an order or orders under this Act on any of the following grounds, namely—that her