By Allan Olingo

Danston Omari may pass as any ordinary advocate. But at 48 years of age, he is less than a year old in practice having been admitted to the bar late last year.

His has been a journey of tribulations that took him 35 years to conquer.

“I had always had an ambition to become a lawyer since 1976 while in primary school. We were falsely accused of having vandalised a neighbour’s vehicle. I was so infuriated because no one listened to us,” says Omari recalling how the seed was sowed.

“When I sat for my exams, I didn’t perform well so I had to go to a private secondary school in Ruiru. I did my ‘O’ levels and scored a division three. This could not take me to A levels,” he offers.

Omari says his cousin, then a lands office, wanted to take him to India.

set mind

“My mind was set. I wanted to do law within Kenya.  After talking to my eldest brother, I went back to Form Three in Kiabonyoru Secondary School. I scored a Division Two in my O levels and was admitted to Kangema High School for my ‘A’ levels. Unfortunately I never got to report because I did not get the admission letter.”

In 1985, Omari had no choice but report to a private school. “When it came to selecting the degree courses, I chose law in all the entries despite protests from the school’s principal,” says Omari.

But Omari says the principal and his guardian conspired to change his entries to Bachelor of Education degree. They believed that from the school’s performance history, no one had ever been admitted to study law.

“When the result were out, the cutoff point was 13 points. I had scored 15 points,” recalls Omari proudly.

Omari was now confident that he would study law because he had qualified. But a surprise awaited him. His letter of offer indicated that he had been selected to study Bachelor of Education.

“Honestly, I did not understand it. I went to the Joint Admissions Board to protest and that’s when they showed me my forms. My choices had been changed from Bachelor of Laws to Bachelor of Education. My dream had been crushed again,” he offers.

commuting daily

Omari says he offered to go back to Form Six but given that his other siblings were in school, he was convinced to study education so that his other siblings could also be educated.

“I reported to Kenyatta University and graduated in 1990. I wasn’t prepared to teach so I remained in Nairobi. My intention was to look for money to go to India and study law,” he says.

In 1992, Omari was posted to teach at Kiabonyoru Secondary School in Nyamira until 1995.

Says Omari: “In 2003, I enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in law at the University of Nairobi. By this time I had transferred to Muthurwa Secondary School in Kiambu. I used to commute every evening for classes from Kiambu.”

In 2005 he got a job in the civil service as a Children Officer and was posted to Kirinyaga District. At the time he was in his second year undertaking his law degree.

“From 2006, I used to go to Kirinyaga in the morning, work until 4pm and be in class in Nairobi latest 6pm. I would be in class up to 9pm. This was my daily routine until I graduated with a degree in law in 2008,” he offers.

In 2009, Omari joined the Kenya School of Law.

“This was the toughest time because the classes are mandatory and they are during the day. I used to report to work in Kirinyaga, work till midday and rush to Karen for the classes. This was also the case when I was doing my pupilage. It was tough, but I was determined,” says Omari

While still at the Kenya School of Law, Omari started his masters in law degree at the University of Nairobi in 2009, doing both of these courses concurrently. Omari graduated with his master degree in December 2011, a few weeks after being admitted to the bar as an advocate.

“I am proud that finally I am doing what I have always wanted to do. I am currently a practicing advocate with a specialty in corporate governance and a lecturer at Catholic University where I am a full time law lecturer,” he offers.

Omari says that having changed career three times, he realised it’s never too late to achieve ones dream.

“When you know what you want, you should strive to achieve it no matter the obstacles and age,” he says.