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Court of Appeal judge, Prof Joel Ngugi  has bagged the 2022 Jurist of the Year award.

Justice Ngugi, who was among the judges appointed to the Court of Appeal by President William Ruto after his inauguration, was given the award by the International Commission of Jurists to commemorate the Human Rights Day.

Announcing its verdict, ICJ hailed the judge’s commitment to his interpretaion of the law “courageously and ambitiously without fear or favour”.

Ngugi is best remembered for presiding over a five-judge High Court Bench that declared the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) null and void on May 13, 2021.

The bench had also ruled that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was improperly constituted and that a President can be sued while in office.

Justice Ngugi was among six other judges who were snubbed by then President Uhuru Kenyatta when he appointed 34 Judges. 

The others were Aggrey Muchelule, George Odunga and Weldon Korir.

President Ruto appointed them once he was sworn in office.

Murder case

Before his appointment as a High Court judge in September 2011, Ngugi was an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Washington, US.

The judge also handled the Kiiru Boys Principal’s murder case where he found Jane Muthoni, the widow of Kiru Boys’ High School Principal Solomon Mwangi, guilty of his murder. He sentenced the former Icaciri Girls’ Secondary School Principal to 30 years in prison for the  murder.

The Friday award event was attended by American Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, Court of Appeal President Daniel Musinga and Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji.

In his acceptance speech, the judge said he was shocked when he was informed of the nomination and dedicated the award to the many faceless Kenyans who fight every day for the Constitution and rule of law.

“This is not my award, it is an award for the ordinary Kenyan who stands up every day for the Constitution and lives its aspirations even without calling it by name. I’m merely a proxy,” he said.

He urged judges and judicial officers not to forget the solemn duty that Kenyans have placed on them and should therefore protect dignity of all, promote social justice for all and nurture the potential of all human beings.

The judge noted that even as Kenyans celebrate the constitution’s longevity, dark clouds loom, threatening the polity and social fabric noting that the failure to set up credible mechanisms for sharing resources and prosperity as a country is the single greatest threat to Kenya’s constitutional democracy.

He observed that the mechanisms are not prioritised by the political, economic and legal elites charged with its implementation.

The award is conferred on every December 10 since 1993 to commemorate and honour the United Nations International Human Rights Day.

It provides an opportunity for human rights defenders and actors to reflect on the gains in promoting human rights during the year and chart the future.

Previous winners include Senior Counsel Paul Muite, Justice Mumbi Ngugi and Martha Karua, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Yash Pal Ghai, James Orengo, Pheroze Nowrojee, Kivutha Kibwana, Lawrence Mute and Nzamba Kitonga.