Fear and Loathing on the High Seas: Affective Dimensions of Justice in Kenya’s Piracy Trials

Abstract

Piracy off the coast of Somalia captured international attention in the early 2010s. The regional approach to prosecuting piracy in East Africa required multi‐state participation and involved an array of local and international actors that ultimately reshaped criminal justice systems and understandings of maritime crime. Kenya was the first country in the region to agree to try suspected pirates as part of the UN regional model for prosecuting pirates. As they updated their piracy laws with the assistance of international legal advisors, many of the details concerning who could be tried in Kenyan courts, what constitutes evidence, and the rights that should be afforded to suspected pirates were continuously modified as court proceedings unfolded. Employing an iterative thematic content analysis of piracy trial transcripts obtained from the High Court of Mombasa in Kenya, this study explores how weapons and fear became central components of establishing guilt in piracy prosecutions. Accordingly, it highlights the dynamic relationship between fear, relative plausibility, and maritime justice that constitute the affective dimensions of justice at work in East Africa’s regional piracy prosecution model.