All eyes on young lawyer as top judges hear BBI case

With the stage set for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) appeal today at the Supreme Court, one of the people expected to stand out is lawyer Morara Omoke.

The 32-year-old graduate of Harvard Law School is one of the appellants in the BBI case. 

Omoke is challenging the single question in a referendum saying a bill that proposes 74 amendments of unrelated laws cannot be submitted as a single question to the voters.

Omoke was one of the initial five petitioners at the High Court challenging the BBI Bill.

Second master’s

Speaking to People Daily yesterday, Omoke revealed that he  acquired his first law degree from the University of Nairobi where he was a top student in the class of 2014.

“Immediately I was admitted to do a Master of Law Programme at the University of Nairobi and thereafter I went to study for my second masters of Law at Harvard Law School.

I then came back to Kenya and since 2018, I have been running my Law Firm, Morara Omoke Advocates,” he said.

Omoke claims most of the credit from the High Court judgment against the BBI, saying the judges agreed and upheld most of the issues he raised in his petition.

The young lawyer loves complex litigation and says he sees himself as the next top lawyer in a few years.

“What we have done in this case is monumental. When we started the litigation, everyone said you cannot fight with the government but in my opinion you can fight any case… it doesn’t matter who you are fighting against as long as you are right,” he said.

Omoke says most of the issues he raised have been cemented by the High Court and the Court of Appeal and are not subject of appeal at the Supreme Court.

Serious input

“There are things that have already been cemented as we speak. For example, you cannot have a referendum before you register voters nationwide.

That has already been settled in the High Court and Court of Appeal and it’s not subject of any appeal in the Supreme Court,” he said.

Omoke says he was able to cement the issue of quorum of the IEBC and even though there is an Appeal at the Supreme Court, IEBC is trying to limit some of the things they have been doing from being affected by the issue quorum.

Omoke says he majors in all cases that require serious legal input and apart from BBI, he has been involved in other big cases.

“There is a case involving KBC and KBC Pension scheme where we are dealing with a major claim of over Sh10 billion.

The Judgment is coming up next month. It involves the retirement benefit of employees and it will set a jurisprudence that will guide our country when it comes to claims related to pension especially for those who work in government,” he said. 

The lawyer says he draws his inspiration from his parents who he credits for his and his siblings’ education despite coming from a humble background.

“I am from a family of six children and my parents were teachers and farmers.

They worked hard to bring us up. That is my inspiration that you can start from nothing to something,” he said.