Teresa Njoroge reforms Africa’s justice system by rehabilitating and empowering formerly imprisoned women and children through economic independence and advocacy.
In 2009, Teresa Njoroge was a senior bank manager in Nairobi, building a successful career and raising her infant daughter. Then everything collapsed. Falsely accused of a financial crime, she was sentenced to Langata Women Maximum Security Prison. She entered the prison gates carrying her three-month-old baby and spent the next two years navigating a world of cold concrete, overcrowded cells, and women whose lives had been shaped by poverty and systemic neglect. Many of these women were imprisoned for minor, poverty-related offences like selling without permits, unpaid debts, survival-driven petty theft – and some, like her, were innocent altogether.
When she was finally exonerated in 2011 and compensated by the government, Njoroge walked out knowing that freedom alone was not enough. The real punishment continued outside prison walls. Stigma, unemployment, and broken family ties left women with no safety net. Without intervention, many ended up back in prison. She decided to change that.
Soon enough, Teresa Njoroge founded Clean Start Africa, a social enterprise dedicated to helping women, girls, and children affected by the criminal justice system rebuild their lives with dignity.
About Clean Start Africa
Unlike many programs, Clean Start is peer-led, run largely by women who have themselves been incarcerated. It operates inside and outside prisons, addressing the economic needs and deep emotional scars left by incarceration.
Its flagship approach, the Ufunuo System, begins with trauma healing, mental health support, leadership development and other forms of rehabilitation inside prison. Then, it continues after release (outside prison) with vocational training, entrepreneurship starter kits, and job placements. There are programs for children who live in prison with their mothers, ensuring they receive early childhood development support, and mentorship initiatives for marginalised girls at risk of entering the system. Women leaving prison join Sisters On The Outside, peer-led support groups that help them deal with stigma, find community, and rebuild family relationships.
Since its inception, Clean Start Africa has reached over 4,000 women with life skills, emotional care, mentorship, and economic empowerment. Its programs operate in multiple Kenyan prisons, including Langata, Nyeri, Busia, Thika, Embu, Muranga, Nakuru, and Narok and have expanded to Uganda and Malawi. The organisation’s measurable goals include cutting recidivism by 50%, improving family and community relationships by 80%, and increasing household income for 90% of participants. Many graduates now run businesses in sectors like beauty, catering, textiles, and clean energy briquette production.
Impact at the policy level
Teresa Njoroge works closely with Kenya’s judiciary, police, prosecutors, and prison services to push for reforms in decriminalising poverty-related offences and introducing alternatives to custodial sentencing. Clean Start’s self-developed leadership manuals, written by formerly imprisoned women, have also influenced sentencing reform discussions within Kenya’s justice system.
Her work has earned her global recognition, including the 2022 Head of State Commendation Gender Trailblazer Award, the African Female Leader Excellence Award, the 2023 Elevate Prize, and fellowships with Vital Voices and the Ford Foundation. She has also spoken on international platforms like TED Women, using her story to advocate for systemic change.
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