Supreme Court Judge Njoki Ndung'u has attracted both praise and criticism for her dissenting stand on the annulment of President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election.
A 52-year old lawyer of merit, Njoki has a law degree from the University of Nairobi and a Masters of Laws in
Human Rights and Civil Liberties from the
University of Leicester
in the
United Kingdom.
Lawyers in court consider her as one of the most friendly judges who treats litigants warmly and patiently waits for them to argue their cases.
Read:
1. She was a nominated MP in Narc government
Njoki was a nominated MP during the government of former President Mwai Kibaki between 2003 and 2007.
She served on four committees in the ninth parliament and is credited for moving bills including the human rights amendments to the Refugee Bill.
2. She sued the late businessman Jacob Juma on bribery allegations
The eloquent and soft-spoken judge sued Juma in February 2016 for linking her to alleged bribery to influence the outcome of an election petition by current Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu against former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero.
She was named
alongside Justice Philip Tunoi, who
had been accused of receiving a Sh200 million bribe from Kidero.
More of this:
3. Njoki won the EBS, United Nations Person of the Year Award in 2006
for gender activism
The judge was awarded the Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS) title, a prestigious state commendation for
her fight for gender equality.
As MP, she successfully introduced a motion in Parliament that saw the amendment of the Employment Act to guarantee women a compulsory three-month paid maternity leave, excluding their annual leave.
Njoki also
pushed for new fathers to be granted two weeks paternity leave.
4. She moved
Sexual Offences Bill, 2006, which proposed the
castration of rapists
In her time as a legislator, Njoki moved the Bill which sought to have sexual
offenders
chemically castrated.
Members of the then Parliament supported allowing the introduction of the Sexual Offences Bill and harsher penalties for sexual crimes.
But others called
for physical castration or even stoning to death.
5. Njoki's appointment as Supreme Court judge triggered mixed reactions in corridors of power
In June 2012, Njoki
was nominated and later appointed
Supreme Court judge, a move that raised murmurs among critics who viewed her as an ‘activist” given her past performance in Parliament when she constantly vouched for gender equality.
Others viewed her as “a greenhorn” not fit for the big shoes in the highest court on the land owing to her inexperience as a judge.
In 2013, Njoki was one of the seven judges who declared Uhuru Kenyatta validly elected after Opposition leader
Raila Odinga
challenged his election at the
Supreme Court.
This year, she rendered a dissenting opinion alongside Justice Jacktone Boma Ojwang citing no evidence to announce the elections as null and void.
Read: