Meet The Fellow

Meet Lilian Olivia Orero from Kenya.

Lilian is currently hosted at the Katiba Institute in Kenya for her practicum which she says has provided her with the necessary intellectual tools in public interest litigation, research and community outreach. Lilian has received encouragement as she learns, re-learns and unlearns some concepts and ideas, all this without being spoon fed by her mentor. “Spoon feeding, in the long run, teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon” — E.M.Forster.

Lilian who is a digital rights enthusiast is currently working on a petition to challenge the implementation of the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) in Kenya, so as to ensure sufficient data protection. In her view, data-driven decision making such as NEMIS, has various effects on society and could lead to more efficient distribution of resources. Lilian’s petition seeks to ensure that the Ministry of Education develops a legal and policy framework to govern the management and use of NEMIS data. This framework should include conducting a Data Protection Impact Assessment, ensuring proper training provided to teachers, ensuring that NEMIS is secure and not prone to system failures; and to establish human intervention which will complement the automated decision making of NEMIS.

Lilian’s inspiration to work on this project stems from her belief that there is need to uphold the most basic core of the right to privacy, namely data protection of children. Through the outcomes of this project, Lilian hopes that her contribution will be to ensure NEMIS processing of data is also promoting the best interests of children.

Outside the law, Lilian enjoys the sound and rhythm of Afrobeats. Lilian is also always ready for a photo, be it as the muse or the photographer.

We wish Lilian the very best in her public interest law journey. May she never miss a beat!

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