Justice Ibrahim bows out just days shy of his retirement at apex court

Justice Mohammed Ibrahim during the ruling on the Building Bridges Initiative case at the Supreme Court in Nairobi, on March 31, 2022. [File, Standard]

Supreme Court Judge Mohammed Kandhar Ibrahim was days shy of his retirement when he made his final bow at the Aga Khan University Hospital on Wednesday.

The senior judge is said to have passed away at the hospital at 4.30 pm after an illness. Justice Ibrahim was to leave the apex court in two weeks after a stellar career at the Judiciary for the last 23 years.

The judge has served three Chief Justices after the 2010 Constitution, having been appointed to the first bench of the Supreme Court of Kenya on June 16, 2011.

He, alongside Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, and Justices Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, Nancy Barasa, Prof Jackton Ojwang and Phillip Tunoi established the foundation of the current court.

"In 2007-2008 post-election violence, which took place when I was in Eldoret, it exposed the weaknesses of the Judiciary as aggrieved parties had no faith in the courts to resolve disputes impartially. To resolve the credibility issue, the 2010 Constitution established the Supreme Court and operationalised it by the Supreme Court Act of  2011,” said Ibrahim on March 7, 2025.

The Supreme Court Judges representative at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) honed his practice at Messrs Waruhiu & Muite Advocates, under the wings of senior lawyer Paul Muite in 1982.

Being the first from his community to join the legal profession, he was admitted to the bar on January 11, 1983. He worked at the law firm until 1987.

He then established his own law firm in 1994, Mohammed Ibrahim and Associates, which then grew to become Ibrahim and Isaack Advocates.

After nine years of legal practice, he joined the judiciary as a High Court Judge on May 21, 2003.  He first sat as a Civil High Court Judge for two months, then moved to the Commercial Division of the High Court.

The following year, he joined the newly established Judicial Review Division, where he served for two years, after which he moved to the High Court in Eldoret. His last station as a High Court Judge was in Mombasa.

His illness would become public during the 2017 presidential election petition hearing. The Judge failed to show up in three court sittings, with the then Judiciary’s Chief Registrar Ann Amadi explaining that he was unwell.

Despite being a critical time for the court and the country,  the judge did not show up alongside his colleagues as the country geared up for another trial challenging the validity of then President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election.

Justice Ibrahim has been out of sight after being taken ill during the court hearing of the case filed by then National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate Raila Odinga who successfully fought for annulment of the election results that declared Uhuru the winner.

Chief Justice Martha Koome eulogised Ibrahim as an astute litigator, yet humble. She said he will be remembered as a guardian of the Constitution.

“During Kenya's struggle for multiparty democracy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Justice Ibrahim stood firmly with pro-democracy forces, offering legal support to activists and the marginalised. His principled advocacy led to his detention without trial, an experience that profoundly shaped his lifelong devotion to constitutionalism, the rule of law, and the protection of human dignity. He also served as a Council Member of the Law Society of Kenya, contributing to the strengthening of the legal profession and ethical practice,” said CJ Koome.

During the Supreme Court judges' October 25, 2017, session, he was among the judges who did not show up. Only Chief Justice David Maraga and Justice Isaac Lenaola were present. During the first petition challenging Uhuru’s victory, Ibrahim’s absence did not affect court business as the law sets a five-judge bench quorum in order for the court to make any valid pronouncements.

"One of us has been taken ill, and he is being attended by a doctor," Mr David Maraga told lawyers at the time.

On October 25, 2017, Justice Maraga again notified the lawyers that the judge was still unwell. Ibrahim was among the champions of multi-party democracy in the country. He was detained for a month without trial at Kamiti prison for offering legal services to pro-democracy proponents.