Carpenter who hopes to be Kenya's CJ

Why did you apply for the Chief Justice’s position? I had genuine desire to serve Kenyans.

Did you believe that you were qualified? Qualifications for the CJ job are not quite definitive. It depends on your interpretation of the law and according to mine, I was qualified.

Why did you opt out of the race then? I received two letters from the Judicial Service Commission. The first letter told me I was not qualified and the second invited me to the interviews.

And now you are a carpenter! Yes, I am.

When did you learn carpentry? I sat in carpentry classes as a First Former in 1991. It was a woodwork class. At Third Form, I started attending apprenticeship at a friend’s workshop to hone my skills and apply from theoretical lessons. By the time I was finishing Fourth Form, I was pretty much a carpenter. But there are other jobs I have done.

Like which ones? I have been a boda-boda rider, tout, farmer, maize seller, and so many others.

Aren’t you a practicing lawyer? I am yet to be admitted to the bar. I sat my examinations at Kenya School of Law in December. When I pass, I will do pupillage for six months and then get admitted to the bar and be an advocate. Graduating from the university does not mean one is an advocate.

When you become an advocate will you stop working as a carpenter? I am a carpenter because it pays the bills. The Bible says, in the book of Timothy 4:8, a man that does not provide for his family is worse than an infidel. I can’t be an infidel. I have a wife, a sister, and two sons and I have to provide for them.

So you are a carpenter just to provide for your family? Yes. At the end of this year, if all goes as planned, I will have my law firm.

Do you think the system was skewed against people like you? Look at education for instance. It has to be re-evaluated. I have worked so hard, paying my school fees from hard-earned money only to discover that some of the courses I studied at Kenya School of Law were among the ones I already studied at the university. It is a waste of money but people from poor families still have to pay for an equal chance.

In another five years or so, when the JSC will be scouting for a new CJ, will you apply? I will apply. By that time, I will be an advocate. I am also planning to enroll for a Master’s degree. Hopefully I will have completed my PhD as well.

What makes you think you will be the best candidate? What I have gone through in life. I joined the university in 1999 and finished class work in 2009 because I couldn’t pay fees. I have performed odd jobs and worked at underpaying law firms to make ends meet. I know the frustrations of the average Kenyan. I married late because I had to make money for school first. I could go on and on.

The day you appeared before the JSC, you wore a black suit and a white shirt. Did it have some meaning? Law as a profession has its rules. We are trained on dress code as well. We are supposed to look official. If I don’t adhere to the rules of the profession, I become an infidel.

Did the fact that you are not so rich play out when you were searching for a spouse? The way nature works is that there is a season for everything. I am approaching 40. If I was marrying now, I would get my first born at 41 or 42. By the time the boy clears Form 4, I will be hitting 60. That is why I had to get married in my early 30s. But all the same, I don’t think money should ever be a factor in choosing a partner.

Was early 30s the right time? I was 31 or 32 then. It was a little bit late. My target age, if I were to be late, was 29.

Your wife accepted you with all the troubles in your life?

The white man says love is blind. But here is the thing: when you really love someone, there is very little that will block you from marrying them.

Did you meet her at the university? No. She was a Form 4 leaver. I courted her for three years before marrying her.

You didn’t have interest in university girls? In the university, I was a man of principles. I was also born again. I was focused on my academics. There were girls who proposed to me and wanted marriage but I was never smitten.  never felt convinced that I should pursue such a relationship.

Do people recognise you when they meet you at the workshop? Some do. As I was coming here, someone told me that they saw me on TV. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about – just to redirect the conversation. And my friends from back home in Bungoma call me the CJ.

Do you feel ashamed sometimes that you have to do this job when you have interviewed for the CJ’s job on live TV? I am a man of the people. I interact with the rich and the poor, high class and low class. I don’t discriminate. That is because people fail to understand how our lives are intertwined. For instance, look at this house: it is the nobodies building it for a somebody. Yet, when he starts living in it, he will never invite the lowlifes who built him the home.

Typically what is your day like? I wake up at 3am to read. When the day breaks, I prepare to leave for work. I have breakfast and pick up my carpentry tools and report to site.

You believe you will be the next CJ? You are quite right. There is nothing that cannot be achieved under the sun. If Kenya needed a committed presidential candidate, and I had the financial muscle, I would offer myself.

You think you can be president? After 40 years of life on earth, there is nothing too big really.