INTERVIEW-Kenyan lawyer takes on president in battle for rights
The Thomson Reuters Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya - "When Allan Maleche was offered a position at one of Kenya's top law firms on graduation, he did not imagine a future as an activist standing up to government and challenging tradition.
But he could not shake off the human rights bug which he had caught during a holiday job working with an HIV/AIDS charity - so he quit the prestigious firm.
"I saw firsthand how women living with the virus were disinherited and had little to no rights in their communities," said Maleche, who heads the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN), which works to end health-related human rights violations.
"My bosses (at the law firm) told me that I'd be back within the year."
Seven years later, Maleche is proud of his achievements at KELIN, including a December High Court victory against the government after the president ordered officials to collect the names of all school children living with HIV/AIDS."