The African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD has been ranked as the 4^th Top Arbitrator in Kenya after Prof. Githu Muigai SC, Justice (Rtd) Jonathan Havelock and Njeri Kariuki. Dr. Kariuki Muigua the rankings of the Top 5 Arbitrators in Kenya 2022 and Top 30 Arbitrators in Kenya by The Lawyer Africa which listed the leading Chartered Arbitrators in Kenya. The ranking of Dr. Kariuki Muigua as the Top 4 Arbitrator in Kenya is a major achievement given that there are currently over 1056 Arbitrators in Kenya. The recognition also validates the listing of Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD by Chambers and Partners in Band 1 among the most elite arbitrators in Kenya.

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 4^th 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, PhD has been a Chartered Arbitrator since 2015, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators since 2012 and the Africa’s Trustee of the Chartered Arbitrators since 2019. He is one of Kenya’s foremost Arbitrator and ADR Practitioner as confirmed by the Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award accorded to him by CIArb (Kenya) in 2021 and being named the Law Society of Kenya (Nairobi) ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 at the Nairobi Legal Awards. The exploits of Dr. Kariuki Muigua have convinced The Lawyer Africa to call for his admission to the rank of Senior Counsel and promotion to the level of Professor of Environmental Law by the University of Nairobi. He is also the Founders and the Editor-in-Chief of the Official Journal of Arbitration in Kenya, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Journal of the CIArb (Kenya Branch).

Dr. Muigua is ranked among the top 6 Arbitrators in Kenya (Band 1) by the prestigious Chambers & Partners in the year 2022. He has handled dozens of international and domestic arbitrations whose cumulative subject matter value is north of a quarter of a Billion US Dollars (over Ksh. 250 Billion) in the last decade alone.  He is an avid Arbitration Law and ADR Scholar, writer and researcher and has supervised numerous LL.M and PhD Thesis in the area in the last decade. He also teaches International Commercial Arbitration at the University of Nairobi and is a tutor and examiner of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

If any African Arbitrator deserved to be named the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 at the 3rd African Arbitration Awards to be held on Friday, 17th June 2022 at Kigali, Rwanda, it was Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD for his efforts in advancing the practice of ADR and Arbitration in Africa as Africa’s Trustee of CIArb and also in his private capacity as a mentor to many across the continent. He is the patron of the Young Arbitrators Club of the University of Nairobi and supported the launch of the Award which bears his name to encourage upcoming arbitrators enhance their writing skills. He has been involved in every aspect of ADR and arbitration including practice and leaders and for that he deserves the recognition and to win the Africa Arbitration Awards.

In 2022, Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD commemorated 20 years as Arbitrator and ADR Practitioner. His journey in Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) started in 2002 when he took the Special member course leading to membership of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb). In the same year, he also became a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) (2002). Three years later, in 2005, Dr. Kariuki Muigua graduated with Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of Nairobi and his Thesis focused on resolving Natural Resource Conflicts through mediation.

In October 2010, Dr. Muigua completed Arbitration Module 4 Course leading to Fellowship to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). He also undertook the Certified Professional in Managing Workplace Conflict from the Mediation Training Institute (International). The following year, on 2^nd December 2011, he successfully defended his PhD Thesis titled “Resolving Environmental Conflicts in Kenya through Mediation” at the University of Nairobi.

In 2012, Dr. Muigua graduated with Diploma in Arbitration from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). In same year, Dr. Muigua was elected Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya branch) where he served for the next 3 years up to 2015. His tenure as CIArb (Kenya Branch) Chair was pivotal as it marked the constitutional transition period which included efforts to spearhead the mainstreaming of ADR methods into the justice system as envisaged under Article 159 of the Constitution culminating in launch of the Court-Annexed Mediation Pilot in 2015.

In September 2012, Dr. Muigua served as a Consultant of Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution and IDLO in preparing a report on the “Framework for the Consolidation and Harmonization of National Policies, Strategies and Legislative Instruments Relating to Access to Justice in Kenya.” In August 2013, he was engaged as a Consultant by the Kenya Land Alliance in preparing a “Review and Analysis of its Draft ADR guide and Training Manual with a view to improve on its contents and structure to match the intended use of offering guidance in resolution of land disputes.”

In 2013, he authored and published the first editions of the two of the leading books on ADR in Kenya: Resolving Conflicts through Mediation in Kenya (2013) and Settling Disputes through Arbitration in Kenya. Settling Disputes through Arbitration is now in its 4^th Edition (published in February 2022) and Dr. Muigua has made it available free for download as part of Social Responsibility and mentorship to upcoming Arbitrators.

In 2013, Dr. Muigua also launched the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Journal, the official Journal of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) Journal, now in its 10^th Volume. He continues to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the acclaimed journal which was awarded the Africa’s Arbitration Publication of the Year 2020 at the Africa Arbitration Awards for its authoritative publishing of ADR research and scholarship from across Africa.

In January 2015, Dr. Muigua was conferred the rank of Chartered Arbitrator, the highest status of an Arbitrator. In the same year, he was also admitted as an Accredited Mediator by the Mediation Training Institute (International). In December 2015, Dr. Muigua was awarded the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Chairman’s medal with a citation for exemplary service in December, 2015. He also authored Alternative Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice in Kenya (2015). In 2015, Dr. Muigua was also engaged as a consultant by the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution in preparing a “Report for the Institutionalization of Traditional Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (TDRMs) and other Community Justice Systems.

In 2017, Dr. Muigua launched the Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development, now in its 8^th Volume. The journal has in the last 5 years earned its place as the leading peer-reviewed and most cited and authoritative publications in the fields of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development. Dr. Kariuki Muigua still leads the editorial board of the Journal as the Publisher and Editor in Chief. In January 2018, he was engaged as a consultant by the Court of Justice of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA Court of Justice) in the Consultancy to Review and Revise COMESA Court of Justice Arbitration Rules (2003).

In 2019, he was voted unopposed as the CIArb Regional Trustee for Africa where he represents Africa at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Board of Trustees which is responsible for all the monies as well as the strategic direction of the Institute. In 2020, he was appointed by the Attorney General as a member of the National Steering Committee for Formulation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy, 2020 representing the Academia.

In 2021, he scooped the three top ADR Award in Kenya. The first award was the inaugural CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour ever awarded by the Institution. Dr. Muigua was also voted by his peers in the legal profession as the Law Society of Kenya ADR Practitioner of the Year Award. He also won the ADR Publisher of the Year Award by the CIArb (Kenya) for his numerous publications and research in ADR and arbitration.

Importantly, Dr. Kariuki Muigua has been consistently ranked among the top 10 arbitrators in Kenya for the last five (5) years in a row by the prestigious Chambers & Partners Lawyers Directory. In 2022, Dr. Kariuki Muigua was ranked among the Top 5 Arbitrators (Band 1) by the Chambers Global Guide which described him as having “an astute understanding of arbitration and mediation” and being at the forefront of ADR in Kenya.

Chambers and Partners describes Dr. Muigua as “a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and well known in this space” who is ‘a highly respected arbitrator and mediator, “publishes a lot of articles on alternative dispute resolution and arbitration” and “has been involved in several ground-breaking arbitrations.” It adds that Dr. Muigua is “respected for litigation that touches on commercial, constitutional and environmental law” and as a leading author who “has written a number of books on arbitration referred to by courts and judges.”

Clearly, Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a leading ADR Practitioner in Kenya and across Africa and deserves to be the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 for his contribution in consistently and excellently practicing ADR as Arbitrator, Mediator, Scholar, Publisher, Leader and Consultant. Dr. Kariuki Muigua continues to volunteer and serve as the Tutor and Assessor at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators-Kenya. He is also a prolific writer and has published over hundred articles and papers on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Dr. Muigua also serves in the Branch Committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya). Previously, he served as a Member and Past Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Information Technology (IT) and Member of the Legal Committee of the Institute. He is a Member of Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC) International Panel of arbitrators and Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) Panel of International Arbitrators, Panel of Domestic Arbitrators and Panel of Domestic Mediators.