It’s the season of climbing the mountain, politically speaking.
ODM leader Raila Odinga has told everyone who cares to listen he is unstoppable in his quest to climb Mount Kenya.
During the Azimio la Umoja national convention at Kasarani Sports Stadium on December 10, Raila said he has spent enough time around Mount Kenya.
“I can confirm to this congregation that if the mountain was smooth, it would be impossible to climb it. The mountain has to be bumpy for you to scale it. On this, I am happy to note that I have reached very close to the peak. I have seen the Batian and Lenana peaks,” Raila said.
His political nemesis, Deputy President William Ruto, and his Tanga Tanga brigade have made fun of Raila’s desire to climb the mountain. They say he is an old man whose health and body stature would not allow him to face the brutal terrain and the weather conditions of the mountain.
Do not be mistaken that Raila and Ruto are actually going to climb the mountain. They are speaking metaphorically, looking for the support and votes from the Mt Kenya region.
However, in Mombasa, where the land is generally flat, a team of lawyers decided to climb the mountain. Not politically or metaphorically speaking, but actually ascending to point Lenana on Mt Kenya.
The team of about 10 advocates, led by former Mombasa Law Society (MLS) chairperson Benjamin Njoroge, set out on this mission on December 12 as they celebrate 110 years of existence of the MLS.
They chose a path that would take seven days to hike to the top of Mount Kenya, with the expected return date to the base on December 18.
Mombasa is considered the cradle of law practice in Kenya. The first law court was built in 1902 adjacent to Fort Jesus. It is where the current Court of Appeal in Mombasa is located.
The MLS was established a few years later in 1911 and has remained the oldest lawyers’ organisation not only in Kenya but also in Africa.
In marking the occasion, they were keen to reach point Lenana, which is one of the highest peaks of Mt Kenya that stands at about 4,985m above sea level.
“This is the season where everybody wants to climb the mountain. We as Mombasa lawyers want to ascend to the top of the mountain before Baba (Raila),” Njoroge said.
This is the season where everybody wants to climb the mountain. We as Mombasa lawyers want to ascend to the top of the mountain before Baba
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Last year, when Covid-19 broke out, the courts were closed down and lawyers were forced to work from home or office for months.
The then Chief Justice David Maraga had in April last year ordered the closure of all courtrooms to the public to limit the gatherings so as to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The judiciary had to adopt a digital system of operation by launching an e-filing system, which enables litigants to file and track their cases through Skype, Zoom or other video links platforms.
“The restrictions meant we could no longer meet in person. Parks were closed and restriction of movement imposed in a number of counties, forcing us to stay indoors within our houses,” Njoroge said.
During this period, the MLS decided to start monthly boot camp sessions at Butterfly Pavilions, where they would meet, exercise and have leisure walks.
“When some restrictions were lifted, we came up with boot camps, where we could meet and go for nature walks at the Butterfly Pavilion every weekend,” Njoroge said.
“As time went by, we needed something more challenging, and that’s why we decided to do hikings.”
Njoroge’s team has since done nine hiking expeditions, including climbing to the peak of the 1,600m high Mount Kasigau in Taita Taveta county on November 27.
They have also hiked the Vuria Hills in Taita, walked 18km from Kombani to Kwale Law Courts in Kwale town, conquered the 12km Nguu Tatu Hills in Kiembeni, Mombasa, and also been on a hiking expedition at the Sheldrick Falls in Shimba Hills, Kwale county.
“Apart from marvelling at the majesty of nature and all that, we also want to look at the mountain and thank God we live in a country that believes in the rule of law,” Njoroge said.
STRESS ANTIDOTE
Njoroge said lawyers generally accumulate a lot of stress as they take time to listen to their clients and have very little time to deal with their own problems.
Most people go to the lawyers with legal problems that have been stressing them. Over time, the lawyers accumulate these issues and do not have much time to deal with them at a personal level.
The lawyers have discovered that through hiking, they can release some of the stress because being around nature allows one to be free.
“During hikes, you have time for yourself. We rarely take phone calls, our phones at that time are only for taking photos,” Njoroge said.
Since the beginning of the hiking expeditions, they have seen a lot of improvement in their mental health because most of them have realised they were carrying a lot in their minds.
During the peak of the Covid-19 period, the MLS lost about six of their members to the disease.
“Some of us have lost loved ones, others are going through financial challenges and other stuff. But hiking just gives us a way to find balance for ourselves. We realised that after hiking, you are tired but feel refreshed,” Njoroge said.
His hiking inspiration comes from Muthoni Gatere, a former classmate of Chief Justice Martha Koome, who has been practising law for three decades but is strong enough to lead hiking expeditions.
Sospeter Njoroge, also an advocate of the High Court, has battled depression before.
Hiking has helped him to deal with issues that used to cause him stress and also helped him express himself confidently and make new friends.
“I’m a person who has been overcoming depression, and hiking has made me feel accepted in society. I’m able to express myself positively and I’ve been able to find solace in dealing with some of the issues that used to make me get depressed,” he said.
The advocate, who has been in practice for 25 years, joined the hiking team in Mombasa around mid-this year.
He came to Mombasa sometime last year from Nairobi but got stuck when the inter-county lockdowns were imposed by the national government to curb the spread of Covid-19.
He said that while in court, lawyers always fight to win cases, in hiking, they forget about everything and become friends.
“The interesting thing is when you are hiking, you find that everybody cares for the other,” Sospeter said.
"You will find that when a colleague is feeling hurt or tired, everybody will encourage them to push on so that we all finish the hike together. That’s something you don’t find when you are litigating in court."
For him, the seven-day hike to the top of Mount Kenya is like a spiritual rebirth after being in practice for 25 years.
“I want to be rejuvenated and by the time I come down the mountain, I want to be a different being,” he said.
"It will also be a period to give thanks to God for the gift of life and the fact that He has been faithful and seen me through a lot of things."
Sospeter, who is also a senior bachelor, planned to propose at the summit.
“By the time I will be coming down the mountain, I will no longer be a bachelor. I’m really looking forward to proposing at the peak of that mountain,” he said.
TYPE OF SELF-CARE
Christine Kipsang, who has been in law practice for 20 years, said embracing workout sessions with her family has helped her keep fit and maintain a strong mental balance.
The workout enthusiast, who is also the vice chair of MLS, said growing up, she used to take part in different physical games. But soon after she began law practice, her timetable changed.
She said during the Covid-19 pandemic, they started having sessions on issues to do with mental health, self-care and counselling.
In one of the sessions, she was able to connect with Wandia Maina, who had been contracted by MLS to do a counselling session.
“She (Wandia) made me realise that this (body exercise) is what I was lacking because I have been working from morning to evening,” Kipsang said.
"And in the evenings, I would go sit down in a chama or fellowship. I did not have a regular exercise programme."
She says Wandia encouraged them to plan well for their life and career and be able to strike a work-life balance.
When the idea of boot camps was mooted, she embraced it wholeheartedly.
It encouraged her to start doing beach walks with her two children on a daily basis and so far, she has managed to take part in all the nine hiking expeditions.
The Mount Kenya hike was going to mark a turning point in her life as she plans to explore her leadership skills next year.
“I’m going to Mt Kenya so I can achieve a goal I have set. It is a changing time in my life because next year, I want to get into serious leadership,” she says.
Wandia, a counseling and outdoor expeditions’ expert, says nature is very therapeutic.
“I have been to the wilderness for so many years. I have done Mt Kenya, Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Elgon, Mt Rwenzori, and I cannot wait to take this group of lawyers up Mt Kenya,” she said.
MLS immediate former chair Mathew Nyabena described the journey to ascend Mount Kenya as a spiritual journey for the lawyers.
“This journey to Mount Kenya is a spiritual nourishment, which we all wish to take and look forward to coming back healthy, fit, happier, more spiritual and blessed,” he said.
He said they were well prepared to endure the climb and eager to get to the top.
“The team is psychologically and physically prepared. There have been a number of hikes in preparation for this and so far, we look forward to a wonderful time as MLS on Mount Kenya,” Nyabena said.
He said lawyers need to take time to rest and enjoy themselves, and he encouraged others to take up physical activities to break from the long court hours they have to endure in their line of duty.
HOW IT WENT
The seven-day hike to point Lenana on Mt Kenya, which began on December 12 and ran to December 19, was very tough because of the altitude, Njoroge said.
“We moved from camp to camp via Sirimon gate in Naromoru and scaled to point Lenana on the fourth day of the hike. We were at the summit at exactly 1:35 pm, having started our ascent from lower Shiptons Camp at 8am,” he said.
They then descended through the Chogoria route in Meru.
“We did lots of walking. It was very cold, but we had a great team leading us,” he says.
He says the mountain has amazing views all round. But for him, the best view was Shiptons Camp.
“At night, the reflection of the moon on the bare rock and snow created something surreal. Like the scenes of Moses and the Ten Commandments in that Technicolour Hollywood movie,” he said.
For most of the lawyers, this was indeed a spiritual journey.
“My mind was drawn to the hymn 'Rock of Ages'. The Kiswahili version 'Mwamba Wenye Imara' felt more apt,” Njoroge said.
“You have to experience this presence to understand why my community viewed this mountain as God's house. This hike brings you very close to the Almighty.”
Eva Odongo said the journey to the top was inspiring.
“We did it! Lawyers from the 110-year-old Mombasa Law Society (the oldest bar association in East and Central Africa),” she said.
"I waved the MLS flag at the summit as a testament that anyone can come from zero to hero, from zero metres above sea level (Mombasa) to 4,985m (Lenana Peak on Mt Kenya). Whatever your dream is, believe it, you can achieve it."
The team is now planning another hike to the top of Mt Kenya next year in April and in December, they will do yet another hike to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
