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This thesis explores restorative justice practices as a modality of intervention in juvenile crime in Kenya. To analyse current restorative justice practices, the thesis adopts the Foucauldian concept of genealogy and examines the processes through which contemporary penal practices have become acceptable. The thesis links reforms in the juvenile justice system in Kenya to the process of legal globalization and highlights the role of the ‘law and development’ discourse in this process. Identifying pitfalls intrinsic to the Westernization of Kenyan law, the thesis engages in a postcolonial critique of law and development. Inspired by Foucault’s analysis of power/knowledge, which postcolonial theory heavily relies on, the thesis examines the conditions that make the Westernization of Kenyan law possible. In particular, the thesis analyzes the conditions that have made certain penal practices acceptable. Using data collected through original empirical research and existing literature on the Kenyan justice system, the thesis examines these penal practices. The research reveals that there have been attempts to incorporate restorative justice practices in the formal juvenile justice system. However, the system underutilizes these practices in favour of conventional court-based penal practices. On the other hand, restorative justice values are embraced in informal forums. Arguing that restorative justice values are compatible with the cultural ethos of communities in Kenya, this thesis examines why restorative justice practices in the formal juvenile justice system remain underutilized. The thesis identifies imprisonment as the predominant modality of punishment in Kenya and analyzes how restorative justice fits in within this context. Analyzing the current underutilization of restorative justice, the thesis highlights the failure to tailor legal structures to fit the contextual realities as a major drawback to the Westernization of Kenyan law. Inspired by postcolonial theory, the thesis underscores the need for local solutions to structural challenges besetting the legal system. It further emphasizes the need for a careful analysis of the compatibility of global penal trends with the contextual realities of a country still beset by the aftermath of colonialism.

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The current retributive approach to tackling hate crime, while intuitively grounded in the principle of proportionately, does little to either repair the harms caused by incidents of hate or engender greater levels of acceptance of those deemed as “different”. This thesis therefore explores whether restorative justice, a relatively new theory and practice of criminal justice, is better placed to tackle the causes and consequences of hate victimisation. The 18 month empirical study, carried out to examine the thesis’ aims, uses a triangulation approach by incorporating observations of restorative justice meetings, semi-structured interviews with victim participants and semi-structured interviews with restorative practitioners who have experience facilitating hate crime cases. The mainly qualitative data collated provides for a detailed evaluation of the various processes found within restorative practices that: 1) helped to alleviate the distress caused by hate victimisation and 2) prevented the recurrence of hate-motivated incidents. A broad conceptualisation of hate crime was used within the thesis that included “hate incidents”. This allowed me to explore the utility of restorative practices in cases involving serious violence and the more pervasive “low-level”, but nonetheless highly deleterious, non-criminal incidents of hate that are frequently committed against minority group individuals. There were also several unanticipated findings from the study. First, data emerged which highlighted various aspects of the restorative practice which were unforeseen as being central to the successful application of restorative processes, these are discussed throughout the thesis. Second, great insight was gained into the nature of hate victimisation, helping to unravel some of the complex socio-cultural factors pivotal to both the cause and effect of hate victimisation. It is hoped that these additional findings provide important epistemological advancements in both fields of study.