My love for the sea

Nyambura Kimani, 22, chose a path rarely taken. The girl who loves fashion and trends shares her interesting career path with TRICIA WANJALA

What do you do?

I’m Kenya’s youngest maritime lawyer. As a kid, I was fascinated by the greatness of the sea. I knew I was always going to be a lawyer. In 2009, I did a brief attachment at Kenya Maritime Authority and found I could merge my two loves.  I took the advice of the director of Kenya Maritime Authority and applied for my Masters from a reputable agency of the United Nations in Malta in southern Europe.

What does a maritime lawyer do?

Maritime law is the law of the sea. It involves anything to do with marine pollution, pirates, ship insurance, ship registration and ports. Most of them are in Mombasa  — I don’t think there are more than 12 maritime lawyers in Nairobi.

Why is there a need for people in your profession?

There are few qualified maritime lawyers and many things are going wrong. There was, for instance, conference on piracy in London recently and there was no Kenyan representative on that committee. Policies are passed without our views.

What was Malta like?

Malta was beautiful. It is a hidden treasure — one of those places you go for the holiday of a lifetime. The population is only 652,000. The people are very hospitable plus the food is great. Until last year, no divorce was allowed in their law. The girls are put on a pedestal and the women are valued. They are very curvaceous with big behinds and all  — not your typical Europeans. I am definitely going to live there at some point in my life.

How was your student experience?

It was a very intensive course, mainly for older people. It was daunting but the more I interacted with them, the more we became a family and I was the baby of the school. It is such a clever thing bringing 30 people from developing countries.