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Wilfred Nyamu Mati: A Constitutional Lawyer Leading in Devolution Cases

Nyamu has become the go-to lawyer for high profile clients with cases that require a sharp legal mind and savvy advocacy.

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Wilfred Nyamu Mati Advocate, also a Kitui County Senator Candidate, addressing Wananchi in a Recent Event.

A popular joke has it that Wilfred Nyamu Mati is one of the handful of civilians who have addressed the Senate of Kenya more times and longer than even some of the current Senators. It owes to the fact that Nyamu was the pioneer Advocate to enter appearance for a Governor facing impeachment at the Senate when he represented Embu Governor Martin Wambora. Indeed, while it is almost a proverb that Governor Wambora has nine lives and a rate knack for survival as a politician, truth is that his secret weapon is the unwavering tenacity and unrelenting legal representation of Nyamu as his lead Lawyer.

Over time, Nyamu has become the go-to lawyer for dozens of Governors, County Governments and high profile individuals facing existential legal threats that require a sharp legal mind to make their case and turn around their fortunes. The flamboyant Governor of Nairobi City Mike Sonko brought Lawyer Nyamu in the last minute to lead his legal team in handling the Impeachment Proceedings and the subsequent court petitions that seeking to overturn the Senate Decision to impeach him. Sonko has also retained Nyamu to help in his defense against the corruption, economic crimes and terrorism charges facing him.

In the last 10 years, Wilfred Nyamu has established himself as a vanguard in constitutional litigation with a strong bias for devolution law and electoral disputes. Nyamu has acted for senior clients and county governments in numerous and complex constitutional petitions and references in all levels of courts in Kenya including the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Kenya. Nyamu is one of the few lawyers who can take pride in having built an enviable litigation practice from scratch to the level of representing high status individuals purely based on referrals based on his good work and excellent advocacy skills.

As proof of Nyamu’s increasing popularity as the lawyer of choice for many VIPs in Kenya, he was instructed to mount defense in 11 election petitions (all by elected leaders) in 2017. To his credit, he won 9 of them in the first instance at High Court and then appealed and won the rest either at Court of Appeal or upon appeal at the Supreme Court. Nyamu is preferred by many of his clients because of his fighting spirit, the honesty to give them impassioned legal opinions about their chances of success in the case at hand and the ability to craft a winning strategy even where other lawyers see no way to a win.

Several cases that Lawyer Nyamu has handled on behalf of Governors stand out. One of the most outstanding was the twin impeachment motions against Governor Martin Wambora in February and May 2014 where in the second instance Nyamu famously walked out of the Senate Committee established to investigate the motion after accusing the team of prejudice against his client since the same Committee had recommended his ouster in the earlier impeachment in February 2014.

“My client, the Honourable Governor, does not expect to get a fair hearing before this Committee and that is why he cannot submit himself any further before this Committee. We are going to address ourselves in Court not before this Committee. I am instructed not to proceed beyond here.” Wilfred Nyamu Mati, Advocate before walking out on Wambora Impeachment Senate Committee.

 

Nyamu had earlier managed to convince the High Court to stay the impeachment of Governor Wambora by the Senate in February 2014. However, even as the County Assembly of Embu proceeded to appeal the High Court decision at Court of Appeal, they lodged a new impeachment motion against Wambora in May 2014 which sailed through the Assembly and was before the Senate Committee, hence Nyamu’s walkout.

What followed the walkout was a very complex and passionate court battle waged by Lawyer Nyamu on behalf of Governor Wambora that truly defined the jurisprudence of impeachment of County Governors in Kenya and made both their names name synonymous with it. On 1st October 2014, Nyamu won the appeal in favour of the Embattled Embu Governor with the Court of Appeal upholding the earlier High Court ruling which reinstated him to office.

But as his client resumed office, Nyamu resumed his battle before a three High Court Judge Bench in the case challenging the second impeachment which Senate had imposed despite his walkout from the Committee. On 13th February, 2015, the High Court proceeded to uphold the impeachment as per the resolution of the Embu County Assembly dated 29th April 2014 and a resolution of the senate special committee endorsing the same.

However, Nyamu saved the day by quickly rising to his feet to convince the judges to grant 14 days stay of the judgement pending appeal ensuring his client stayed in office while he fought in court. In the meantime, Nyamu rushed to Court of Appeal where he secured a conservatory order staying the High Court decision for his client to continue to exercise his powers as Governor of Embu County pending the hearing of the Appeal. In the aftermath, Nyamu constituted a team of 7 lawyers including two Senior Counsel to help him argue his client’s case before the Court of Appeal culminating in the nullification of Wambora’s impeachment in December 2015 with the Appeal Court ruling that there was no clear evidence that he acted in gross violation of the Constitution, warranting his impeachment.

After the High Court nullified the impeachment of Wambora, Nyamu had cited the Embu Speaker among others for disregarding the orders. The Speaker contested the contempt orders in Court of Appeal which upheld them prompting an appeal in the Supreme Court which after two long years of legal battle overturned the orders in December 2017. But Nyamu had long made his point by compelling the County Assembly to respect High Court and Court of Appeal decisions overturning the impeachment of his client which remained in force for the remainder of his first term.

Nyamu is also well-known for his handling of the Governor Alfred Mutua Election Petition in 2017. By all standards, that was one of the most bitterly fought election petitions of 2017 stretching for more than 1 year from the High Court, through Court of Appeal, all the way to Supreme Court. for justice to be done for his client. After the High court upheld the Election of Governor Alfred Mutua, his opponent successfully contested the decision in the court of Appeal and everyone thought all was lost. However, Nyamu appealed to the Supreme Court arguing that Court of appeal erred in “admitting the Appeal for hearing based on the need for substantive justice under Article 159(2) of the Constitution and proceeding to nullify the election based on technicalities.” Supreme Court agreed with Nyamu finding that procedural technicalities in the elections did not warrant the nullification.

History appears to be repeating itself in the case of Governor Sonko where Nyamu is waging war on multiple front to get his client back to office. After the Senate impeached Sonko even as they acknowledged that Nyamu and his fellow lawyers had succeeded in showing the grounds levelled against Sonko did not hold water, he lodged a constitutional petition pending in the High Court to challenge the decision. In between the main petition, Nyamu has fought many applications and related cases and as usual appears ready to fight for his client all the way to Supreme Court if that is what it takes.

Nyamu has proven to be always ready to fight until justice is done for every of his client. He did it for Governor Kivutha when he was impeached by Makueni despite Nyamu’s best efforts fighting his way to High Court where he succeeded to bar the Senate from discussing his client’s impeachment. He is doing it also for Waititu where he is challenging his impeachment with the case pending in High Court. In all these cases and more, Nyamu has earned his reputation as the constitutional lawyer who never stops fighting until his clients win, whatever it takes! Nyamu has also declared his interest to seek to be elected the Kitui’s third Senator in the coming elections, we wait to see if he will become the first Kitui lawyer to represent the County in the Senate.

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Chambers Global 2023 Ranks Dr. Kariuki Muigua Among Band 1 Arbitrators Again

For the third year in a row, ranked Dr. Kariuki Muigua Ph.D in Band 1 of Dispute Resolution (Arbitrators) by Chambers Global Guide 2023.

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Dr. Kariuki Muigua is once again ranked by Chambers and Partners in Band 1 among the Top 6 Arbitrators in Kenya

Chambers and Partners Global Guide 2023 has, for the third year in a row, ranked Dr. Kariuki Muigua Ph.D in Band 1 of Dispute Resolution (Arbitrators), the ranking which recognizes the Top 6 Arbitrators in Kenya for his “astute understanding of arbitration,” being “respected for his handling of litigation,” and having “a practice that touches upon commercial, constitutional and environmental law.” Last year, Chambers and Partners Partners had also ranked Dr. Muigua in Band 1 noting that “He has been involved in several ground-breaking arbitrations,” “has an astute understanding of arbitration” and “is respected for litigation.”

These high accolade is the start of yet another year of escalating peer and professional rec0nignition for Dr. Kariuki Muigua as a leader in ADR and Arbitration whose fame as top arbitrators has gone from national, to continental and is now at global league. In 2021, Dr. Muigua was the Inaugural Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Kenya Branch ADR Lifetime Achievement Award Winner 2021 and Law Society of Kenya Nairobi Legal Awards ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021.

In 2022, Dr. Kariuki Muigua won the coveted Africa Arbitration Awards Africa Arbitrator of the Year 2022 which is hosted by the East Africa International Arbitration Conference. In addition, Dr. Kariuki Muigua was also the prestigious African Arbitration Association ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022. These two continental arbitration awards combined with stature of Dr. Kariuki Muigua as the Africa CIArb Trustee since 2019 cemented his position as the leading arbitrator in the African continent.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD straddles the narrow ADR world like a giant and his epic journey to claim the top prize in ADR in the continent as well as the dominance of the rankings of Top Arbitrators listings is ample proof. Dr. Muigua became a Member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIarb) in 2002 and 10 years later he was elected as the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) serving up to 2015. In 2019, Dr Muigua was elected (unopposed) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Board of Trustees as the Regional Trustee for Africa.

There is no other practitioner before Dr. Kariuki Muigua who had achieved the milestone of winning the African Arbitrator of the Year and the AfAA Africa’s ADR Practitioner of the Year in the same year before Dr. Kariuki Muigua. This not only affirms him as the top in the ADR game, but it ushers a new era as he enters into the realm of international ADR practitioners from Africa. With no more prizes and awards for Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD to win in Africa having scooped all, how the indefatigable ADR Scholar will shift his attention to dominating the international sphere will be interesting to watch.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua’s journey to the top of ADR and Arbitration in the Africa continent is testament that discipline and hard work pays. It has has seen him painstakingly and consistently research, teach, write, edit, publish, train, mentor and practice arbitration, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), conflict management and dispute resolution for the last 30 years with excellence as a leading lawyer, authoritative scholar and ADR expert.

Today, Dr. Kariuki Muigua, Phd, C.Arb is a Chartered Arbitrator and the African Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022. He is an advocate of 33 years standing and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. He is also the author of the Leading Textbooks on ADR, Mediation and Arbitration including the seminal Settling Disputes Through Arbitration in Kenya, now in 4th Edition.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua is also both the founder, publisher and editor of Africa’s leading Conflict Management Journal as well as one of the PhD Academics who majored in resolution of Natural Resources and Environmental Conflicts using mediation. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is also a leading author in the area of conflict management and has published several books on the topic including Resolving Conflicts through Mediation and Natural Resources and Environmental Justice in Kenya. It is these exploits that have left many of his admirers convinced that his next stop would be Professorship and admission to the Rank of Senior Counsel.

As an ADR Practitioner, Dr. Muigua was declared the first ever winner of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) ADR Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour given by the Institute to one member every year for his immense contribution to the growth of practice, research and scholarship of ADR in Kenya and across Africa. The award came barely a week after Dr. Muigua had won the coveted Law Society of Kenya ADR Practitioner of the Year Award at the 4th Edition of the Nairobi Legal Awards. LSK recognized Dr. Muigua for his outstanding practice in ADR and especially arbitration and his role as mentor to many lawyers venturing into the area. Dr. Kariuki Muigua was also awarded the ADR Publisher of the Year for his scholarship, authorship and editorship of leading research and publications on ADR in Africa including the Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development and Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Official Journal of the CIArb (Kenya).

The tripartite awards have been hailed by many of Dr. Kariuki Muigua’s peers in the ADR and Arbitration fraternity as a fitting tributes to his made immense contribution to mainstreaming of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and especially arbitration as way of resolving disputes in Kenya, East Africa and across Africa in the last two (2) decades. Indeed, starting in 2002 when Dr. Muigua took the Special Member Course leading to membership to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb), Dr. Muigua one of the staunchest advocates of ADR in Africa in addition to becoming the foremost intellectual voice shaping ADR practitioners and scholars of the future. The contribution of Dr. Kariuki Muigua to the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) sector has taken many shapes and forms including as a practitioner, leader, policy maker, scholar, author, trainer, mentor and trailblazer among others.

Dr. Muigua is a leading Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioner in Kenya, Africa and the world at large who has been recognized nationally and globally by peers. The world leading peer-reviewed lawyers’ directory, Chambers and Partners, rates Dr. Kariuki Muigua as one of the best alternative dispute resolution experts in the country. It describes as ‘a highly respected arbitrator and mediator with a sterling background in commercial and constitutional cases, as well as matters relating to the environment and natural resources.’ The most recent ranking adds: “Kariuki Muigua of Kariuki Muigua & Co is held in high regard by market commentators for his role in the Kenyan arbitration sphere. He possesses stellar experience in commercial and constitutional disputes, as well as environmental matters and those relating to the extractive industries. In addition to being “a big noise in the arbitration association,” he is widely recognized for his academic work.”

Dr. Muigua has served in many panels as an arbitrator appointed by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-Kenya, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA), the London Court Of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the International Court of Arbitration under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on several occasions as a sole arbitrator and a member of arbitral tribunals in arbitrations involving commercial disputes. He has vast experience and expertise in adjudication and has sat as both as a panel member and a chairperson in various adjudication Boards both locally and internationally. He is also an accomplished mediator and has successfully presided over numerous matters both as a private mediator and a court appointed mediator under the Court-Annexed Mediation program in Kenya.

Dr Muigua was elected (unopposed) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Board of Trustees as the Regional Trustee for Africa, for the term beginning 1 January 2019. Previously, he served as the Branch Chairman of CIArb-Kenya from 2012 to 2015. He also served CIArb as Member and past Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Information Technology (IT), CIArb and as Member of the Legal Committee Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) – Kenya chapter. He is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-Kenya chapter. He is also a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and Kenya Branch. He is also a Member of Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC) and Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA). For his contributions, he was awarded Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Chairman’s Medal with a citation for exemplary service in December, 2015.

In policy-making, Dr. Kariuki Muigua is currently a member of the National Steering Committee for Formulation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy representing the Academia since 2020. The team is providing guidance and overseeing the process for formulation of a national policy and institutional framework on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Kenya. He has also served as Member of the Meditation Accreditation Committee Panel of Mediators Accredited for Commercial Mediation under the Judiciary of Kenya. Recently, he led negotiations that achieved partnership with Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK on GPR 625 (International Commercial Arbitration) for University of Nairobi LLM students to achieve membership status without further tests, 2020 to 2023.

On ADR Scholarship, Dr. Muigua is the author of the leading textbook on Arbitration in Kenya, namely, Settling Disputes through Arbitration in Kenya, now in its 4th Edition (2022) and available for free download, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice in Kenya (2015) and Resolving Conflicts through Mediation in Kenya (2013). He has been cited hundreds of times as an ADR Scholar, contributed at least 3 chapters of published books, authored dozens of peer-reviewed articles in the areas of arbitration and alternative dispute resolution and presented over two dozen papers on ADR in diverse fora. Dr. Muigua has also facilitated numerous trainings, workshops and conferences on ADR. He has supervised and supervised at least two (2) completed PhD thesis on ADR, Dozens of Masters Thesis and is supervising three (3) PhDs in the area as a lecturer and mentor in ADR practice and scholarship. Dr. Muigua is a lecturer in International Commercial Arbitration at the University of Nairobi and tutor, trainer and assessor at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch).

Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Chartered Arbitrator (since January 2015) and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (since October 2010) and Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (since 2002). He holds a Diploma in Arbitration (2012) and became Accredited as a Mediator by the Mediation Training Institute in 2015. He is also a renowned consultant on ADR Law and Practice and has authored reports whose recommendations had far reaching impact on the sector. As a professional who strives to attain excellence in the legal and ADR arenas, Dr. Muigua has gone out of his way to put ADR in the frontline as one of the leading modes of dispute resolution in Kenya, Africa and at global stage. Dr. Muigua is a holder of a Ph. D in law from the University of Nairobi and has widespread training and experience in both international and national commercial arbitration and mediation. Previously, he served as the chairperson, Department of Private Law of the University of Nairobi School of Law 2020-2021.

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John Ohaga SC Scoops Kenya and Africa Top Arbitrator Accolades

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John M. Ohaga SC, Arbitrator of the Year Award Winner 2022 and Africa 20 Arbitration Powerlist 2022 Finalist

In the year 2022, Senior Counsel John M. Ohaga scooped the highest National and Continental Awards in Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and confirmed his peerless place among the top arbitrators in Kenya as well as Africa.  On one hand, the Managing Partner of TripleOKLaw Advocates LLP was feted by his peers as the Top Arbitrator in Kenya in the Year 2022 and awarded the most prestigious arbitration award by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch). On the other hand, the celebrated leading arbitrator was ranked among the Top 3 Arbitrators in Kenya by Chambers and Partners, among the Top 4 Arbitrators in Kenya by The Lawyer Africa and was one of the two Kenyan Arbitrators to make it to the list of the 20 most elite Arbitrators in Africa by the Africa Arbitration Academy.

First, Senior Counsel Ohaga was the winner of the Kenya’s Arbitrator of the Year 2022, the most prestigious and highest awards given to an Arbitrator at the CIArb (Kenya) Excellence in Arbitration Awards. The award was in recognition of Ohaga’s consistent contribution to ADR Practice as a leading arbitrator and arbitration counsel in the country and around the world. It is proof of the high regard the Senior Counsel is held by his colleagues and peers in the ADR fraternity for being one of the most experienced and sought after Arbitrators amongst the less than three dozen Chartered Arbitrators in Kenya (C.Arb) and as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). The Arbitrator of the Award 2022 came hot in heels of the Runner-Up ADR Practitioner of the Year Award at the Nairobi Legal Awards in 2021.

Second, Ohaga SC made it to the Second Edition of the Africa 20 Arbitration Powerlist 2022, the most exclusive and matchless listing of Arbitrators in the Africa continent. The list which is curated by the Africa Arbitration Academy in collaboration with Association of Young Arbitrators (AYA) and Africa Arbitration, Africa’s leading continent-wide arbitration institutions, recognizes the most elite arbitrators and leaders in ADR from across the continent. Senior Counsel Ohaga was one of the only two Kenyans to make it to the list confirming his place as the top arbitrator in Kenya. Ohaga is among the top crop of arbitrators from across Africa who maintained their place in the Powerlist even as it was trimmed from Top 30 Arbitrators (in 2020) to Top 20 Arbitrators (in 2022).

At the same time, Senior Counsel Ohaga as the TripleOKLaw Advocates LLP Co-Head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department led the team to scoop the top award in the category at the African Legal Awards 2022. The Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team Award is a testament of Ohaga and the firm’s expertise, commitment and excellence to providing quality representation in numerous complex litigation matters and high-value domestic and international arbitration proceedings. John Ohaga SC was also a finalist in the Partner of the Year Award 2022 at the same awards. He is also ranked in Band 1 in both Dispute Resolution Category and Arbitrators Category as one of the top 3 arbitrators in Kenya by world-renown Chambers and Partners.

At the global stage, John Ohaga SC was in October 2022 enrolled to the Panel of Arbitrators of International Centre of Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), one of the most coveted arbitration panels in the world. He was also nominated as one of the Kenya Delegate to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR at ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. In effect, Ohaga joined the exclusive club of a handful of top-drawer arbitrators who are called upon to determine international arbitration matters between nations, or nations and international investors or among multinationals themselves. As a result, The Lawyer Africa put John Ohaga in the list of the Top 4 Arbitrators in Kenya in its list of Top 200 Kenyan Arbitrators in the Year 2022.

These accolades confirm John Ohaga SC as one of Kenya’s most accomplished and awarded dispute resolution expert in Kenya. In the last 32 years, John has handled numerous complex and precedent setting litigation matters, presided over high value domestic and international arbitration cases. He leads an outstanding elite team of some of Kenya’s most venerated and all-round dispute resolution practitioners as co-head of the dispute resolution practice at TripleOKLaw. He also stands out as the leader of one of Kenya’s most enduring and leading law firms for the last 25 years, steering it to Africa’s Top 50 law firms in 2022 at No. 39 with 44 lawyers.

John was conferred the rank and dignity of Senior Counsel, the highest level of professional recognition for lawyers, by the President of the Republic of Kenya in July 2020. He was named Kenya’s Lawyer of the Year in 2020 in the 3rd Edition of Nairobi Legal Awards in December 2020 and the Pupil Master of the Year in 2019 and 2021 as recognition of his commitment to mentoring young lawyers. He was one of the Top 50 Arbitrators in Africa by The Legal 500 in Arbitration Powerlist 2021: Africa. In 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2021, John was the winner of the International Law Office (ILO) Client Choice Awards (Litigation) in Kenya.

John is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers Global 2022 as one of the Top 10 Outstanding lawyers in dispute resolution in Kenya and one who “displays an astute understanding of dispute resolution processes.” As a Chartered Arbitrator, John is considered one Kenya’s elite Arbitrators and sits on the CIArb Presidential Panel of Arbitrators. He is described by The Legal 500 as “a genuine leader in arbitration.” He has represented parties as counsel in several arbitration proceedings and acted in numerous disputes as either Party Appointed Arbitrator, Sole Arbitrator or Presiding Arbitrator.

Due to his passion for arbitration, John was appointed Chairperson of the National Steering Committee for formulation of the ADR Policy by the Attorney General of Kenya. He is also member of the Judiciary’s Mediation Accreditation Committee and Chair of its Accreditation Committee as well as a member of the Judiciary Taskforce on the Implementation of the Court-Annexed Mediation Programme. He has also been  the Convener of the Law Society of Kenya’s Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution and previously served as a board member of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA).  He is Chairman of the Sports Disputes Tribunal, Chair of the Appeals Committee of the Advertising Standards Board and Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch).

John is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Member of Law Society of Kenya, East African Law Society (which recently appointed him to lead its Arbitration Committee), International Bar Association, Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, International Council for Commercial Arbitration and International Association of Managing Partners.  He qualified as Member of the CIArb (MCIArb) in 2007, was admitted as Fellow of CIArb (FCIArb) in 2012, installed as a Chartered Arbitrator (C.Arb) in 2018 and Accredited as a CIArb Mediator same year. He holds a Certificate in Sports Arbitration from Kuala Lumpur Centre for International Arbitration (2017), a Certificate in Negotiation and Leadership from Harvard Law School (2019) and is pursuing an LLM in International Dispute Resolution from Queen Mary, University of London.

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Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD: The Top Arbitrator in Africa

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Dr. Kariuki Muigua, African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 and African Arbitration Association (AfAA) ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022

If winning the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 confirmed Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD as the continent’s Top Arbitrator in the making, his award of the African Arbitration Association (AfAA) ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022 in November 2022 is proof that the Africa CIArb Trustee has finally arrived as the Top Arbitrator and ADR Practitioner in Africa. The AfAA ADR Practitioner of the Year is awarded to the arbitrator/ADR practitioner who is adjudged to have made outstanding achievements in, or contribution to, the development of arbitration/ADR in Africa. Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD fits the bill and it came as no surprise to see him shortlisted and awarded this prestigious award by his esteemed peers in the ADR fraternity across the continent.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD straddles the narrow ADR world like a giant and his epic journey to claim the top prize in ADR in the continent is proof of it. Dr. Muigua became a Member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIarb) in 2002 and 10 years later he was elected as the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) serving up to 2015. In 2019, Dr Muigua was elected (unopposed) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Board of Trustees as the Regional Trustee for Africa. In 2021, he won the Law Society 0f Kenya award for the ADR Practitioner of the Year Award 2021. In the same month, he was awarded the CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award, as the inaugural winner of the highest award of the Branch.

The year 2022 has seen Dr. Kariuki Muigua repeat the impossible feat he had achieved at National level at Continental level by winning the top Arbitration and ADR Awards at the same year. There is no other practitioner who has achieved this milestone of winning the African Arbitrator of the Year and the AfAA Africa’s ADR Practitioner of the Year in the same year before Dr. Kariuki Muigua. This not only affirms him as the top in the ADR game, but it ushers a new era as he enters into the realm of international ADR practitioners from Africa. With no more prizes and awards for Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD to win in Africa having scooped all, how the indefatigable ADR Scholar will shift his attention to dominating the international sphere will be interesting to watch.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua’s journey to the top of ADR and Arbitration in the Africa continent is testament that discipline and hardwork pays. It has has seen him painstakingly and consistently research, teach, write, edit, publish, train, mentor and practice arbitration, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), conflict management and dispute resolution for the last 30 years with excellence as a leading lawyer, authoritative scholar and ADR expert. Today, Dr. Kariuki Muigua, Phd, C.Arb is a Chartered Arbitrator and the African Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022. He is an advocate of 33 years standing and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. He is also the author of the Leading Textbooks on ADR, Mediation and Arbitration including the seminal Settling Disputes Through Arbitration in Kenya, now in 4th Edition. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is ranked at Band 1 by Chambers & Partners among the leading Arbitrators in Kenya noting that “He has been involved in several ground-breaking arbitrations,” “has an astute understanding of arbitration” and “is respected for litigation.”

Dr. Kariuki Muigua is also both the founder, publisher and editor of Africa’s leading Conflict Management Journal as well as one of the PhD Academics who majored in resolution of Natural Resources and Environmental Conflicts using mediation. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is also a leading author in the area of conflict management and has published several books on the topic including Resolving Conflicts through Mediation and Natural Resources and Environmental Justice in Kenya. It is these exploits that have left many of his admirers convinced that his next stop would be Professorship and admission to the Rank of Senior Counsel.

As an ADR Practitioner, Dr. Muigua was declared the first ever winner of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) ADR Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour given by the Institute to one member every year for his immense contribution to the growth of practice, research and scholarship of ADR in Kenya and across Africa. The award came barely a week after Dr. Muigua had won the coveted Law Society of Kenya ADR Practitioner of the Year Award at the 4th Edition of the Nairobi Legal Awards. LSK recognized Dr. Muigua for his outstanding practice in ADR and especially arbitration and his role as mentor to many lawyers venturing into the area. Dr. Kariuki Muigua was also awarded the ADR Publisher of the Year for his scholarship, authorship and editorship of leading research and publications on ADR in Africa including the Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development and Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Official Journal of the CIArb (Kenya).

The tripartite awards have been hailed by many of Dr. Kariuki Muigua’s peers in the ADR and Arbitration fraternity as a fitting tributes to his made immense contribution to mainstreaming of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and especially arbitration as way of resolving disputes in Kenya, East Africa and across Africa in the last two (2) decades. Indeed, starting in 2002 when Dr. Muigua took the Special Member Course leading to membership to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb), Dr. Muigua one of the staunchest advocates of ADR in Africa in addition to becoming the foremost intellectual voice shaping ADR practitioners and scholars of the future. The contribution of Dr. Kariuki Muigua to the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) sector has taken many shapes and forms including as a practitioner, leader, policy maker, scholar, author, trainer, mentor and trailblazer among others.

Dr. Muigua is a leading Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioner in Kenya, Africa and the world at large who has been recognized nationally and globally by peers. The world leading peer-reviewed lawyers’ directory, Chambers and Partners, rates Dr. Kariuki Muigua as one of the best alternative dispute resolution experts in the country. It describes as ‘a highly respected arbitrator and mediator with a sterling background in commercial and constitutional cases, as well as matters relating to the environment and natural resources.’ The most recent ranking adds: “Kariuki Muigua of Kariuki Muigua & Co is held in high regard by market commentators for his role in the Kenyan arbitration sphere. He possesses stellar experience in commercial and constitutional disputes, as well as environmental matters and those relating to the extractive industries. In addition to being “a big noise in the arbitration association,” he is widely recognized for his academic work.”

Dr. Muigua has served in many panels as an arbitrator appointed by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-Kenya, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA), the London Court Of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the International Court of Arbitration under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on several occasions as a sole arbitrator and a member of arbitral tribunals in arbitrations involving commercial disputes. He has vast experience and expertise in adjudication and has sat as both as a panel member and a chairperson in various adjudication Boards both locally and internationally. He is also an accomplished mediator and has successfully presided over numerous matters both as a private mediator and a court appointed mediator under the Court-Annexed Mediation program in Kenya.

Dr Muigua was elected (unopposed) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Board of Trustees as the Regional Trustee for Africa, for the term beginning 1 January 2019. Previously, he served as the Branch Chairman of CIArb-Kenya from 2012 to 2015. He also served CIArb as Member and past Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Information Technology (IT), CIArb and as Member of the Legal Committee Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) – Kenya chapter. He is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-Kenya chapter. He is also a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and Kenya Branch. He is also a Member of Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC) and Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA). For his contributions, he was awarded Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Chairman’s Medal with a citation for exemplary service in December, 2015.

In policy-making, Dr. Kariuki Muigua is currently a member of the National Steering Committee for Formulation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy representing the Academia since 2020. The team is providing guidance and overseeing the process for formulation of a national policy and institutional framework on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Kenya. He has also served as Member of the Meditation Accreditation Committee Panel of Mediators Accredited for Commercial Mediation under the Judiciary of Kenya. Recently, he led negotiations that achieved partnership with Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK on GPR 625 (International Commercial Arbitration) for University of Nairobi LLM students to achieve membership status without further tests, 2020 to 2023.

On ADR Scholarship, Dr. Muigua is the author of the leading textbook on Arbitration in Kenya, namely, Settling Disputes through Arbitration in Kenya, now in its 4th Edition (2022) and available for free download, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice in Kenya (2015) and Resolving Conflicts through Mediation in Kenya (2013). He has been cited hundreds of times as an ADR Scholar, contributed at least 3 chapters of published books, authored dozens of peer-reviewed articles in the areas of arbitration and alternative dispute resolution and presented over two dozen papers on ADR in diverse fora. Dr. Muigua has also facilitated numerous trainings, workshops and conferences on ADR. He has supervised and supervised at least two (2) completed PhD thesis on ADR, Dozens of Masters Thesis and is supervising three (3) PhDs in the area as a lecturer and mentor in ADR practice and scholarship. Dr. Muigua is a lecturer in International Commercial Arbitration at the University of Nairobi and tutor, trainer and assessor at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch).

Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Chartered Arbitrator (since January 2015) and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (since October 2010) and Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (since 2002). He holds a Diploma in Arbitration (2012) and became Accredited as a Mediator by the Mediation Training Institute in 2015. He is also a renowned consultant on ADR Law and Practice and has authored reports whose recommendations had far reaching impact on the sector. As a professional who strives to attain excellence in the legal and ADR arenas, Dr. Muigua has gone out of his way to put ADR in the frontline as one of the leading modes of dispute resolution in Kenya, Africa and at global stage. Dr. Muigua is a holder of a Ph. D in law from the University of Nairobi and has widespread training and experience in both international and national commercial arbitration and mediation. Previously, he served as the chairperson, Department of Private Law of the University of Nairobi School of Law 2020-2021.

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