Women Faith Leaders Fellowship - Georgetown University

Background: Sister Teresiah Muthoni serves Kenya’s Catholic Church as chief legal advisor of the Archdiocese of Nairobi. She builds on a lifetime commitment to justice and the rule of law, to giving women an appreciation for their legal rights and access to them, and to serving God as best she can. In this conversation (by zoom) with Katherine Marshall on May 22, she traces her path to her present focus and daily work. She highlights the central challenge of the large gaps between what is written in law and its implementation, broadly but very specifically for women’s rights to own and inherit property. Traditional practices lead to heavy dependence by women on men. By assuring women their existing legal rights, they can gain confidence and act as real partners. The discussion offered many insights into the significance of empowerment and what can help move in that direction in practice.

A topic that was a passion for me was wondering why boys would inherit and girls would not: on what basis? That has been a push for me from the word go. Through all my researches, I have followed the gender path to look at why the situation is still the same case so many years after we have seen girls in education and so many researches done. Why is it that even after parents have studied and gone to school, they still perpetuate discriminatory customs and the traditions. Basically, I always knew I wanted to have a voice in what determines our future and that means the law.

We are always dependent on men as our brothers, fathers, husbands. But the law has emancipated us, gives us emancipation, so that we are free to do as we wish. The challenge is: do you have the resources to do so? As soon as a woman is able to access her own resources, then she doesn't have to be tied to the father's, husband’s, brother’s land to get resources. The concept of empowerment is central to being a liberated woman. A liberated woman then does not depend on any man for provision.

Our charism is preferential option for the poor: the charism of the Little Sisters of St. Francis. That sits well with the empowerment concept, because the preferential option for the poor does not mean that you give the poor food. It means that you empower them to empower themselves.

Bio: Sister Teresiah Muthoni, LSOSF, is a member of the Women Faith Leaders Fellowship 2024-2025 cohort. She is affiliated with the Little Sisters of St. Francis and holds a doctorate in law. Her studies focused on the right to property for women under international human rights law, analyzing the legal protections in Kenya. She is also an advocate of the High Court of Kenya currently practicing as the chief legal advisor of the Archdiocese of Nairobi in Kenya. Her background as a woman raised by a single parent who was denied inheritance aroused her desire to find out how women can be protected from patriarchy and discrimination on pertinent issues such as the right to own property. This has fueled her desire to empower women and girls on their human rights as protected by the law.

Could you start by telling me a bit about where you came from: Where were you born? Your family? How did you come to be a Catholic sister?

My name is Sister Teresiah Muthoni, a Little Sister of St. Francis of Assisi. I come Nakuru Diocese, which is 150 kilometers west of Nairobi. I was born in a family of six: five girls and one boy. Unfortunately, my mother is deceased and also my brother, so we are a family of five girls at the moment, and six with my sister-in-law. I'm the last born. Both my parents were Kikuyu.

My mother is single and after separation from her husband, she was left with the six children. According to my culture, the children belong to the mother, so she's the one who brought us up. During my early years, we lived in a different village, and there we never had land. I can say we lived in a squatter situation. Then, at the age of 10, we moved to Nakuru, where the family stays now, and that's where I studied. I went to a sister's school, Bahati Girls. This was my first interaction with the nuns in my life.

Was your family Catholic?

Yes, very Catholic. My mom is Catholic. I learned the basic prayers at home, but my first interaction with the sisters was in my high school. I was a YCS leader, and I was very active in church activities. So after my high school, I immediately joined the convent, at 18, and I grew up there, until I made my first vows, on 7th December 2002. So very soon I'm celebrating my Jubilee!

Thus I grew up at home in the village, and had first hand experience of the struggles of a woman who had no property, who had to work so hard to put food on the table for her children. And without an educational background,

How did she manage?

She used to do business. She used to go to the market, buy food supplies, then sell them from home. My home has always been like a market, because people would come to buy rice and grains from our home. For quite a number of years I knew her as a market woman and that’s how she was known. This work had some far-reaching effects on her back and when she became old, she had back problems because of carrying so many loads.

When I was ten years old, she had an opportunity to have some land for herself (she couldn't get it from her family). So that's how we moved from where we initially lived in Baringo to Nakuru. That's where we managed to grow up to where we are now. The elder ones were very instrumental in my education. They gathered the resources and assisted in paying the fees for the younger ones. So together we were able to make it.

So you joined the Little Sisters of St. Francis. Why that congregation?

These were the sisters running our school. There was one particular sister, Sister Delphine Njeri, who was my first principal. She was very good, kind, and motherly. She interacted with each one of us at a very personal level and I got interested. But first I actually wrote to many congregations. I think I liked the vibe of the Little Sisters, who were very happy. I thought, “this is where I want to try." And I never gave it a second thought. I finished school and joined them immediately. And because they thought they knew me, they didn't tell me to wait. So I just joined them without much thought. It was only later that I became aware that there are really different charisms and congregations that one could join. Especially after I made my vows and I wanted to study law, I came to know about charisms, as I was initially told that law was not within our charism. I asked myself, "Why didn't I join an order that had the charism I wanted?" But it was too late. But then, God's ways are different. So eventually there came a superior who said, "I think this is a need and if somebody is interested, why not allow her?" So that's how I ended up studying law.

Where were you when you joined? Still in Nakuru?

The school where I studied borders the novitiate, with only a fence separating the school and the formation house. I had interacted with the sisters so much, with the church activities, and after I finished school, I just went home to wait for results, then came back to join them.

When did you continue your studies?

I made my first vows in 2002, and I was only able to continue with my studies in 2007. But first I went to Uganda, and worked there for a year, then in Tanzania for two years, then came back to Kenya. That’s when I started my studies, my bachelor's, at the Catholic University.

What were you doing in Uganda and Tanzania?

In Tanzania I was, though without skills, a teacher. I was teaching students who are between the primary school and the secondary school. Because Tanzania uses Kiswahili as their language of instruction in the primary school, and English in secondary, the transition poses a big problem. For Catholic schools, they usually do a transition, and students come to learn English in between primary and secondary school. So I was teaching those girls there. Then in Uganda I was working in a home for the disabled, a Cheshire home called Providence Home in Nkokonjeru for one year. For the other three years I worked here in Kenya, as a school matron. When I first joined, I saw myself as a teacher, but then I abandoned that because my passion was in law. That’s how I came to study law.

How did you come to have a passion in law?

When I was in high school, I had a keen passion for debate (we call them discourses). I liked arguing about points and supporting motions and critiquing new laws and so forth. So personally I knew I wanted to do this kind of advocacy, looking for points that you can critique and that you can support in a presentation. Second, I had a great concern for justice, because I've always had issues, especially with inheritance matters. I always wondered why boys would inherit and girls would not: on what basis? That has been a push for me from the word go. Through all my researches, I have followed the gender path to look at why the situation is still the same case so many years after we have seen girls in education and so many researches done. Why is it that even after parents have studied and gone to school, they still perpetuate discriminatory customs and the traditions. Basically, I always knew I wanted to have a voice in what determines our future and that means the law.

That's fascinating. So you started your studies in 2007? In which university?

At the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. I did a Bachelor's of law, and graduated in 2011. From there, I went for the advocates training program; here in Kenya, that takes two years, before one is allowed to practice as an advocate. So I did the law school and my bar exam in 2012, and after a one year of Pupillage, I was admitted to the bar in January 2014. One year later I got a scholarship from a German organization that has a Master of Laws program at the University of Dar de Salaam. The University of Nairobi allowed me to go for it, and I spent a year there—from October 2015 to November 2016. Later, in 2019 by the Grace of God, I got another scholarship, from Germany, to do my PhD. Again, the Archdiocese of Nairobi allowed me to go and study.

How did you come to work as an advocate for the Church?

Right after I finished my LLB degree. I worked for an advocate in a private law firm in Nairobi throughout my law school and two years after admission to the Bar, 2014-2015. Through the Advocate’s office I worked for the Church, because the office of the Advocate was handling church matters. The Church came to the firm for small things, affidavit, stamps. If someone is arrested for a minor offense, like a road traffic offense, they would come to the Advocate. Through these contacts I came to have a sense of what the Church did. The advocate started engaging me with files that involved the Church. One day a priest who was running the Diocesan Curia found me in the Advocate’s office and asked what I was doing. I answered that I was a law student. After a discussion with the Advocate I was working with, they decided that a legal department at the Archdiocese was needed and that I was qualified to run it. And that's how I ended up working for the Archdiocese of Nairobi, after my admission to the bar and my Masters of Laws Studies. I assumed work, in November 2016, at the Archdiocese of Nairobi, and have been here since then, I started the department from a scratch.

I thank God that I have had a system within the Church that has always supported my dreams and ambitions.

More important for me is the platform I have here to work with sisters and different leaders. Every quarter I organize trainings for sisters and priests, especially the religious, because I feel there is a gap in terms of their knowledge of the law. I train them on human resource matters, data protection, and land and land management. This second quarter (April, May, June), I am planning to train them on human resource matters. I'm also invited to talk to women religious, women groups and even men about legal issues such as inheritance, property, which makes me so happy. I talk about inheritance laws and how they can redeem their families. In the case of death of a husband, the woman is left at the mercy of the traditions, which are not friendly to a woman.

Also important are the opportunities I have had to come closer to those who have actually suffered. Not just talking to them in public settings, but interacting at a personal level. I have gone to local areas to talk to widows and women who are heading their households. I realized that this are societal problems. Working at the Archdiocese of Nairobi, this has been a great opportunity for me, because apart from knowing people’s problems, I've also been able to empower them.

What did you do your PhD on and in which university?

After my masters, I first wanted to continue with my studies One of the professors told me about KAAD, the Katholischer Akademischer Ausländer-Dienst of Germany, a Catholic organization that offers scholarships to students from all over the world. I applied for a PhD and I got an opportunity in 2019, and went to the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt-Oder. That’s at the border with Poland. Professor Thiele Carmen was my supervisor, because in Germany you must have a supervisor who accepts to supervise your work before you can be admitted to a university. I wrote my thesis on the Right to Property for Women under International Human Rights Law: analyzing legal protection in Kenya. My focus was on discrimination on the basis of sex in the area of property.

I began with my personal experience as I grew up, and my interactions with the traditions. I focused on legal protections in Kenya, looking at how Kenya has adopted international law to be able to protect women at the national level. It was a tough experience, especially because of the difference in our jurisdiction: we are a common law jurisdiction, while Germany is a civil law jurisdiction. Their way of writing is different from all that I have learned. My professor would agree that it was not easy for us to agree, but eventually we did. She was very patient with me. I defended my thesis in February 2024 and in April 2024 I was given my certificate. I held a big celebration at home, because it was not easy!

Many congratulations! Are you going to publish what you wrote?

I've already published it. It was a requirement for graduation. I’ll send a link to my publication.

*Note: Click here for the publication. 

You have taken on quite a challenge! How would you describe the situation in Kenya with women's property and inheritance, which is your specialty? What is the law and how much is it applied?

The law is present. The constitution protects women. We have adopted CEDAW, the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women. We are a signatory to the Maputo Protocol i.e the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the rights of women in Africa. At the national level, we have a gender and equality commission. Thus the legal framework is there. The challenge, however, comes with its implementation. Implementation presents challenges because many people are ignorant of the law. Family issues are within the private domain, so the question arises: how can we take our family affairs to the court? Many women are afraid to take their clan to court. They don't want to go the legal way, because “these are our people”. When, as a lawyer, one has to advise the client, especially on succession matters, it can be challenging.

I do handle succession matters for the individual families of priests who had died. Sometimes you have to advise the person that there is an opportunity to oppose an application, for example if the brothers have given themselves a larger share based on their traditions. What happens here is that when a person dies and we do succession, the family sits down and agrees on how to divide the property. If the woman does not say no, the judge will ask whether she agreed with the family on how it should be She may say yes because she wants the matter to be complete, but not because she agrees from deep in her heart. Sometimes I have to ask a client, "Do you have sisters?" especially where only men are written on the papers, and the sisters are not included as beneficiaries of the deceased parents. I often get the response that the sisters inherit nothing. I then inform the family that girls have rights too and must consent to the distribution of their parents’ estate. I have handled a number of matters where women had been excluded initially, and I feel very good when I'm able to secure some property for the women and assuring them that they have a legal right to it. Initially their common response was "Our tradition says..." This response is because they are totally ignorant about the constitution and about the international laws.

Thus, my real challenge is not the absence of the law, but the knowledge of that existence of the law and how it can protect a woman, especially, the very vulnerable women in the village: who are told that this is our tradition and it is the way we must follow.

Does the Church have a position on these matters?

No, I must say that the Church is largely indifferent unless they are contacted. If a woman goes to the parish priest and presents her problem, and the priest knows there is a lawyer in the diocese, he can advise the woman to go to the sister for advice (me). Often I get calls asking me to see a woman. As in other matters with our judicial system, the Church tends to be adversarial; it does not deal with something unless the matter is brought to them. There are no proactive measures, except some following from my initiative. I don't work in the women’s department [of the diosese], but sometimes I go to those working in the women department about a problem and the potential for action for justice. She might not consider it a necessary topic, but I see it as essential. And whenever I have gone to talk to women, they have responded: "Wow, why didn't we know this? How come we didn't know this? How come?" That’s true even for some who are highly educated, but not in legal matters. They can then respond with the next question: "What do I do now?" Last year I spoke to some men who understood that it was necessary to have a will, or the family will suffer, which they do not want. In that sense I can say that the Church needs to act proactively. We should not wait for people to come to us. Let's go to the people and tell them.

Especially in a conservative church, you have to balance your approach, so that you don't look like you are really pushing people into things that they don't find necessary. When I talk to a woman from a parish, I am able to tell the priest, "Father, I found this problem with your parishioner. Can I come and talk to the women about relevant topics?" That gives me an opportunity. I face a challenge in not wanting to look as if I am pushing, even when I want to push it, to get justice and improve lives. I want to push without looking like I'm pushing!

You've mentioned women's empowerment. How do you see that with a legal framework within the Church, or within your congregation? Is that part of the charism of your congregation?

Our charism is preferential option for the poor: the charism of the Little Sisters of St. Francis. That sits well with the empowerment concept, because the preferential option for the poor does not mean that you give the poor food. It means that you empower them to empower themselves. And I think that's why we are focused on girl child education. Somebody once complained to me that we were always building schools for girls. “Where are the boys going to?" That shows how far we work to empower the women. We can see what happen when the women is educated and she has her money; then there is nothing that bars her from buying her own property.

I tell women that they have stop their dependency on men. We are always dependent on men as our brothers, fathers, husbands. But the law has emancipated us, so that we are free to do as we wish. The challenge is: do you have the resources to do so? As soon as a woman is able to access her own resources, then she doesn't have to be tied to the father's, husband’s, brother’s land. The concept of empowerment is central to being a liberated woman. A liberated woman then does not depend on any man for provision.

That brings us to another issue: how can women emancipate themselves from domestic violence. Why are women tied in abusive relationships? Again, it is a question of dependency: if a woman leaves her home she cannot go back to her father's house as she has no property there. She is stuck. So the empowerment question lingers on: how is this woman going to be free to depend on herself, and to let the man know that she is not there because she is dependent on him but as his partner. Sometimes when I teach that I'm told I am preaching, but that is the reality as it is on the ground.

We are thinking a lot about is trust and all the issues of trust. Not trusting vaccines or public health advice is an important example, as is concern about corruption. What are your thoughts on that?

I am not an expert on health matters, but I know about situations here in Kenya around vaccines. The Catholic Church has said no to certain vaccines, worried that they were linked to family planning, or drugs that would affect our daughters in future. I've never been actively engaged on this fight, nor have I had direct conversations about the contents of a vaccine. But it is true that they have always been treated with suspicion, especially on effects. The government usually has had an upper hand, challenging those who doubt to produce any evidence of bad effects. Thus the situation has been quite a challenge.

You are linking questions around trust to the fear of corruption. Is that something you deal with?

Yes, of course, and especially as I work within the Church circles. Our Bishops came up with a phone ringtone that says, "I fight against corruption, I fight..." because we have seen the effects of corruption that makes our systems not work. Lack of trust is tightly linked to suspicion about vaccine contents, but also about the corrupt deals that might have led to us to having this particular vaccine or whatever measures that they're introducing.

So your bishop is on the forefront of the matter?

Yes! An interesting incident took place here. The president of the Republic of Kenya visited a church and donated money for construction, but our Archbishop asked our priest to refund the amount because it had been solicited for. I was involved in the effort to return the money, because it was not easy to find the government officials to receive it. We don't want this kind of donations because it is meant to gag the priests from talking about corruption and criticizing the government. The Archbishop is at the forefront of fighting corruption.

How does your day look like in your job? You are attached to the archdiocese. Do cases come to you or are you responsible for reporting? You created the office: are you alone or do you have other lawyers?

We have grown the office to three lawyers. I am the sister, the other two ladies are not sisters. We have a clerk who assists us in following up the documents we send to government offices, like land transfers. I live in a community of three sisters. Two of us work here at the diocesan secretariat and the other is a teacher; we live in a school where she works. I wake up at 5.00 the morning, pray, then leave the house at 6:00, go for mass here in the cathedral at 6:30, and usually, in a normal day, I'm in the office at 7:30. I try to do my preparations for office between 7:30 and 8:00. I organize the documents that are supposed to be dispatched

Between 8:00 and 1:00 I am seeing clients. People are sent from parishes to come and see us, for example to deal with a land issue. We work with a diary and schedule meetings. I work from Monday to Thursday, and on Friday I teach. I am teaching a course on family law in the university in my city, in Nakuru. I go there once a month, and the other times time I teach online.

When there is a need for us to do community visits, to visit a land site or go and hear a dispute like an employment dispute, we go to the particular place. Whether it is a congregation or a parish, where we need to do empowerment or give a seminar, we go there. We also sit in panels for job interviews and if any legal issues arise, we assist.

Are most cases referred by priests or sisters? Is your focus mainly on land matters and family matters?

Yes, land, family and employment. Employment matters are the most common. That involves both firing and hiring. We assist in drafting contracts and general guidance on relationships between employers and employees in parishes. That is a large part of our work, and we also serve religious congregations. There, we help with registration, as charitable trust.. We assist in tax management, tax exemption applications, and so on. What we don't do are criminal matters. If someone has a criminal matter, I have to outsource a lawyer and give it to them.

How do you see the family law issues evolving in Kenya? You say that the law is reasonable, it fits with international standards, but it's the implementation that is the issue. How do you see the next steps?

Having more lawyers will help. We are already quite a good number. I teach a new class of 95 students who have joined this year (2025), and that is just in one university. I think with more awareness of how the law protects people, we will have a better environment in the future. And with the empowerment of women, we are going to reach a point where women are no longer dependent on men, especially in terms of resources. When we get there, women will not be fighting about small pieces of land because they can afford one for themselves. With more empowerment of girls, the traditions will not have the effect that they have today. That is my projection.

The central purpose of the fellowship is of course to empower sisters and assure them a well deserved voice and role, within the Church but also beyond the church. Your thoughts?

I have really appreciated the fellowship because it has given me the energy to go out. We are often, waiting for people to come to us. We may not have time to reach and go out because we are so busy. But the fellowship told us, go out and meet them and share with them, and I was empowered to do that.. That has been a turning point for me. I realize now that the problem in communities is not really monetary. Somebody needs to listen to people and show interest in them. That is critically important. I have seen it with women living in a slums and how listening to them is empowerment.

This fellowship is calling us to go out and do something for that empowerment. So apart from my strict 8:00 to 5:00 schedule, I create time for other things. That was my challenge and I want to overcome it moving forward.