Renowned human rights lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee dies
LSK Chair Faith Odhiambo eulogised Nowrojee as a man of irrefutable poise and honourable character, whose life exemplified duty to service and dedication to Justice.
Veteran Lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee has died aged 84, the Law Society of Kenya Chairperson Faith Odhiambo has confirmed.
Odhiambo eulogised Nowrojee as a man of irrefutable poise and honourable character, whose life exemplified duty to service and dedication to Justice.
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"It is a sad day for the legal profession as we bid farewell to a man who taught us what it means to be distinguished professionals. Our hearts sink today, for we have lost one of the greatest to have ever done it," she said.
"As we honour this bastion of constitutionalism, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and every person whose life he touched. May Senior Counsel Pheroze Nowrojee rest in eternal peace."
Nowrojee, an ardent Constitutional and human rights lawyer, was also known for his fierce writing and poetry.
He is the author of 'A Kenyan Journey'.
Pheroze’s work transcended the courtroom and the written word, touching lives and inspiring a collective pursuit of a freer, fairer Kenya.
Nowrojee's opinion pieces on legal matters in dailies over the years have always helped educate and simplify legal concepts for law students and the public.
His acumen came to public limelight during the live proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition 1 of 2017, Odinga & another v IEBC & 2 others that showcased his litigation prowess to the non-legal fraternity.
As one of the lead counsels on the petitioner's team, SC Nowrojee, in a 40min submission, tied up the loose ends of the petitioner's case in a compelling submission that many believed won the case and led the Supreme Court, in a first on the African Continent, to nullify a presidential election.
He respectfully countered and dispelled, blow by blow, the assertions of the respondents' counsels with the help of the Constitution, statutes, and case law.
In a past media interview, he narrated that he fell in love with law at a young age.
As a young boy, he accompanied his father to courtrooms to follow proceedings, and the love of law grew in his young heart.
Along the court corridors, he was often described as a soft-spoken, brilliant legal mind and humble.
One of the cases which shaped his life as he followed his dad, AR Kapila to court was the Mau Mau Lari massacre trials in Githunguri in 1953. His father was a defence attorney.
Accompanying him to court, a great impression was made on the young Nowrojee by the courage of his dad and his steadfastness. It was this experience that made him follow in his father's footsteps and pursue law as a career.
"It confirmed for me that this (being a lawyer and representing people) was the task I wanted to do. I was 13 at the time and joined university a few weeks later. And there began my reading in the direction I had seen in that court," he said.
He was a father of three. Nowrojee loved reading history books, law, politics and occasionally favourite fiction.
When he was not reading a book, he was writing, sketching and doing water colour painting.
Nowrojee was called as a Barrister at Lincoln's Inn in 1965 and then as an advocate in Kenya in 1967. He later enrolled as an advocate in Tanzania in 1970 and in Zanzibar in 1989.
He schooled at Catholic Parochial Primary School in Nairobi before proceeding to Billimorja High School in Panchgani, Maharashtra, India. He later studied at Bombay University, Dar-es-Salaam and later proceeded to Yale Law School in the United States.
After fighting in court to have the 2017 presidential election contest results nullified, he said, "It had taken us 25 years to achieve this overturning of the constant practice of rigging by those in power."
The decision, he explained, followed the most important principle of politics in Kenya: Constitutional supremacy as opposed to the supremacy of individual politicians.
"We had set the precedent that compliance with the constitution's provisions binds all governance and all public activity in Kenya," he said.
The other case he was proud of is the one relating to the Nairobi Law Monthly magazine filed in 1990.
The magazine, founded and edited by Gitobu Imanyara, had been banned by the Moi government.
Nowrojee and his team moved to court and applied to quash the ban, and the High Court (Justice Shields) lifted the ban.
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