Access to Justice Regarding Property Rights for Widows: A Case of Three Wards in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Thisstudy investigated challenges that widows face when trying access justice regarding property rights in Kasarani, Kibera and KayoleWards in Nairobi City County, Kenya.Thestudy employed mixed methods design. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected usingquestionnaires, interviewguidesand focus group discussionschedules. Quantitative data was coded, entered and analyzed by means of both inferential and descriptive statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data through identification of themes concerning challenges affecting widows as they access justice, levels of awareness and avenues of seeking legal redress, cultural factors that facilitate the social exclusionof widows, and knowledge of existing laws and institutions that may assist the widows. The key findingswere that cultural factors, social exclusion, ignorance of inheritance laws, and distance from justice structures, prevent women from demanding for andrealizing their rights.The researchers propose that there is urgent need for interventions by the Kenya government, legal fraternity, NGOs, CBOs, families, and religious institutions to ensure that widows secure justice and access properties of their deceased spouses. Key Words: Access to Justice, Property Rights, Widows