A glimpse into Makau Mutua’s thick CV submitted to panelists

Judicial Service Commission did not open controversial law Professor and Chief Justice applicant Makau Mutua’s comprehensive resumé.

In the 84-page CV, the bit that touched on his education was barely few paragraphs. The rest of it was swallowed up by his academic work— publications, papers, articles, books and seminars.

Although Mutua enrolled at the University of Nairobi in 1979, the CV shows, the only qualifications he attained at the university were being a finalist of the moot court competition in 1990 and serving as Secretary General of the students union in 1981. It is in the neighbouring Tanzania (University of Dar es Salaam) where Mutua eventually got his bachelor of laws (honours) in 1983 before enrolling for a masters degree in 1984 at the same university.

He moved on to Harvard Law School for another master of laws (LLM) in 1985 and doctor of juridical science (SJD) in 1987. From the CV, his teaching career began at University of Dar es Salaam where he taught international trade in 1983 and 1984.

He went on to teach at the State University of New York, University of Deusto Bilbao, Spain, United Nations University for Peace Costa Rica, University of Puerto Rico School of Law San Juan, University of Iowa College of Law and Harvard Law School.

To vouch for his legal experience, Mutua lists his experience as International Human Rights Law Group Ferguson Fellow for the year 1985, legal advisor for Litvin, Blumberg, Matusow & Young Philadelphia, associate at White & Case New York, director of African project for Lawyers Committee for Human Rights New York (1989-1991) and his current job as Human Rights Advisor for the World Bank in Washington DC.

Three pages of the CV are consumed by the awards and honours he has received in the course of his life. Mutua also attached with his CV four of his publications— Human Rights Standards: Hegemony, Law, and Politics, Albany, New York: SUNY Press (2016), Human Rights NGOs in East Africa: Political and Normative Tensions [editor], Kenya’s Quest for Democracy: Taming Leviathan, Boulder and Human Rights: A Political and Cultural Critique.

Articles, book chapters and reviews devoured seven pages of the CV while reports and policy documents knocked off two other pages.

But it was “newspapers and magazines” articles which took the best of the CV’s pages—39 pages! Without flinching, Mutua listed all newspaper articles he has written while working as a columnist for the Sunday Nation and The Standard on Sunday.

Among the controversial articles he listed are “Attorney General has been misused and should resign,” “Obama’s visit served to endorse an undeserving regime,” “There are warning signs Jubilee team could be sent home in 2017,” and “Why I won’t refer to Uhuru Kenyatta as the President.” Others are “Four reasons why Kenya can’t be ruled from The Hague,” “Gay and Lesbian Kenyans are a social reality,” ”Why the Uhuru-Ruto alliance is a ticket to nowhere,” “I am convinced that Uhuru is his own worst enemy,” “Why Eldoret North MP should not dine with reformers,” “What if Ocampo were to indict Uhuru?” and “Ruto has taken a path to political oblivion.”