Peter Ouko: From death row to law graduate
بيتر أوكو: من طابور الموت إلى خريج في القانون
Pete Ouko champions access to justice for inmates and the indolent in Africa. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
interior designer,
due to a broken-down judicial system.
لإنتهاكه النظام القضائي.
he didn't commit
the victim who actually died in the murder
جريمة ... الضحية التي قُتلت بالفعل
sentenced to prison
eight by seven,
that Manson would have been living in.
أن يكون مانسون قد عاش فيها.
than the eight-by-seven cell.
as he awaited the executioner --
بينما ينتظر الإعدام ...
he did not have a name --
the next minute,
في الدقيقة التالية،
that Manson faced,
going to play the victim.
that had put him behind bars.
الذي وضعه خلف القضبان،
he could change that justice system
لتغيير النظام القضائي
when he decided to embrace forgiveness
عندما قرر معانقة التسامح
going to be a victim anymore.
دور الضحية بعد الآن.
change a system
younger inmates every day
in prison, my fellow inmates,
في السجن، زملائي السجناء،
to the justice system,
that had been set up
لو بإمكاني استخدام هذا التعبير...
if I may use that word --
graduate from the UK,
of his colleagues from university
من رفاقه في الجامعة
of the 15 worst prisons in the world.
من أسوأ 15 سجن في العالم.
we were on death row.
from the university
with the latest technology
to very good standards
have to die in indignity.
and the support,
at the University of London.
studied from South Africa,
at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison.
من سجن كاميتي ماكسيمم الأمني.
from within the prison system.
the helpless victim.
not only to assist myself,
that have just been spoken about here.
تم التحدث عنه هنا.
legal briefs for them.
we did as much as we could.
فعلنا أقصى ما يمكننا فعله.
at the African Prisons Project
in the Kenya Prison Service
في دائرة السجون الكينية
through distance learning.
عبر التعلم عن بعد.
who are being motivated
the most indolent in society,
and others get access to justice.
والآخرين للوصول إلى العدالة.
something kept stirring me.
كان هنالك شيء يحركني.
kept hitting me.
"Pete, if you can't fly,
"بيتي، إن لم تستطع الطيران،
بالتحرك في أي شيء أقوم به.
to keep moving in whatever I do.
we can change our society,
الوحيدة لتغيير مجتمعنا.
the justice system --
in our country --
after 18 years in prison,
الماضي بعد 18 عاماً في السجن،
on presidential pardon.
the African Prisons Project --
مشروع السجناء الأفارقة ...
of training and setting up
and legal college behind bars.
inmates and staff
wider society of the poor
مجتمعاً كاملاً من الفقراء
إلى العدالة القانونية.
that we can all reexamine ourselves,
جميعاً إعادة النظر في أنفسنا،
will not take us anywhere.
by the peaceful revolutionaries
the world needs you today.
يحتاج العالم اليكم اليوم.
each and every single one of you here,
changemakers, innovators,
صناع التغير والمبتكرون،
we have at TED,
الموجودون في TED،
of Martin Luther King.
in your heart and your life.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Ouko - Prison reform advocatePete Ouko champions access to justice for inmates and the indolent in Africa.
Why you should listen
Twenty years ago, Peter Ouko walked into a police station in Kenya seeking answers to the circumstances under which his wife had been found murdered and the body dumped next to the police station fence. Unbeknown to him, the hunter would soon find himself as the hunted, and in a journey through the then broken down judicial system, he found himself convicted and sent to the gallows for a crime he maintains he did not commit.
Instead of bitterness, Ouko decided to forgive his tormentors and make the best of his time in prison, becoming the first inmate to graduate with a University of London Diploma in Law while behind bars. He is currently in his final year as an LLB student in the same University.
In his dual role as an Ambassador of the African Prisons Project and Founder of the Youth Safety Awareness Initiative, Ouko today champions access to justice for inmates and the indolent in society while using social enterprise to advocate for a crime free world. His goal: to demystify justice and have a crime free world underpinned by the rule of the law.
Peter Ouko | Speaker | TED.com