Who are they? The legal minds joining the Senior Counsel rank

From left: Natonal Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, Data Commissioner Emmaculat Kassain and National Intelligence Service Director Noordin Haji. [File,Standard]

President William Ruto has gazetted the conferment of the Senior Counsel rank on 54 advocates, marking Kenya's largest cohort in three years and pushing the country's total number of Senior Counsels from 66 to 120.

The Committee on Senior Counsel recommended the 54 advocates for the coveted title on December 4 after evaluating 105 applications submitted following a September call for entries.

The list includes National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula, National Intelligence Service Director General Noordin Haji, former Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi and Pan-African legal scholar Prof Patrick Lumumba.

Others in this year’s elite list include former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s lawyer during impeachment, Elisha Ongoya, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) chair Ahmed Issack Hassan and former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) presidents Nelson Havi and Eric Theuri.

In a departure from previous conferments, the 2025 list features unprecedented institutional diversity, with diplomats, academics and public servants joining traditional litigators.

Former Kenyan Ambassador to the United Nations Koki Muli Grignon, who served in New York from 2012 to 2019 and currently heads South Eastern Kenya University's School of Law, made the cut.

Grignon has over 33 years in human rights advocacy and democracy work and holds a PhD in electoral law from the University of Dar es Salaam.

Kenya's first Data Commissioner, Immaculate Kassait, also secured the honour.

Kassait led the establishment of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner after her November 2020 appointment and previously spent 11 years at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) managing voter registration for 19.6 million Kenyans.

Committee Chairperson Philip Murgor noted the panel evaluated applications under the Advocates (Senior Counsel Conferment and Privileges) Rule, which requires at least 15 years of practice, professional excellence and ethical conduct.

The list includes former Makueni Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana, corporate lawyer Ambrose Rachier, who chairs Gor Mahia Football Club, former Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) chair Ahmed Issack Hassan and Nancy Karigithu, a former Principal Secretary.

The last conferment occurred in 2022 when former President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded the title to 24 advocates, creating a three-year gap that fuelled demand for the 2025 cycle.

The Senior Counsel designation, modelled on Britain's Queen's Counsel tradition, grants recipients precedence in court proceedings, distinctive ceremonial robes similar to Court of Appeal judges and the right to sit within the bar in all courts.

The conferment required approval from multiple stages, including the Chief Justice, who reviews Committee recommendations before submitting the final list to the President.

The gazette notice, published on Wednesday, December 10, under the Hand of the President and Public Seal, formally invests the 54 advocates with the rank and dignity of Senior Counsel.