Kenyan Woman Sues Northern Ireland Government Over Racial Discriminations

A Kenyan-born mother has brought a legal challenge against the Northern Ireland Executive, alleging it failed to act on a key pledge to update racial equality legislation.

Maureen Hamblin, who lives in County Antrim, filed a Judicial Review against the Executive Office over the lack of reform to the Race Relations Order (Northern Ireland) 1997. Updating the legislation was identified as the highest priority in the Racial Equality Strategy 2015–2025, which was approved by the then First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

The strategy was intended to strengthen protections against racial discrimination, address hate crime, and promote consistency across public services. Hamblin argues that the failure to deliver the promised reform has left existing protections outdated and insufficient.

Her case is based in part on her own experiences. Since moving to Northern Ireland in 2014, she has reported repeated incidents of racial abuse. In 2023, she and her children were subjected to racial slurs and mocking noises while at Valley Park in Newtownabbey. She has said that the cumulative effect of such incidents led her to homeschool her children because of concerns about racist treatment in schools.

Her solicitor, John McGrath of Andrea Reid & Co, said the Executive had not followed through on commitments made more than a decade ago. He told the Irish News that no clear plans had been set out to deliver the promised reforms and that legislative change was increasingly urgent, particularly amid reports of a rise in racially motivated incidents.

The Equality Commission has repeatedly recommended strengthening the Race Relations Order and publishing a timetable for reform. Hamblin maintains that these recommendations have not been implemented, leaving gaps in legal protection for ethnic minority communities.

The Executive Office sought to have the case dismissed. It argued that the High Court did not have jurisdiction because Hamblin had not first used the statutory review process available under the Access to Information Act. Officials also said the documents she requested contained personal staff data exempt from disclosure under data protection law, and that, as a senior human resources officer, she already had routine internal access to the information.

The High Court accepted the Executive’s arguments and ruled that statutory dispute resolution procedures must be exhausted before constitutional remedies can be pursued. The court found no exceptional circumstances to justify bypassing those processes and struck out the petition. Each party was ordered to cover its own legal costs.

A further review hearing is scheduled for 28 January at the High Court in Belfast, where Hamblin will have another opportunity to advance her case.