Mbuthi Gathenji: SC Who Refused to Let the Kenyan Govt Forget the Haiti Officers

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Mbuthi Gathenji: SC Who Refused to Let the Kenyan Govt Forget the Haiti Officers

MBUTHI GATHENJI

Mbuthi Gathenji is a seasoned Kenyan lawyer and Senior Counsel, recognized for his extensive experience in high-level litigation across the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Based in Nairobi, Gathenji is the owner of Gathenji & Co. Advocates and specializes in conflict resolution, with a particular focus on victims of violence.

Early Life and Educational Background

The lawyer attended the historic Jamhuri High School in Nairobi, formerly known as the Government Indian School, which has a great reputation for producing prominent professionals in Kenya.

Gathenji left Jamhuri for Kagumo High School in Nyeri, another elite national school known for its competitive academic standards and influential alumni.

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At the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, he earned his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Honours, with a focus on Commercial Law.

At the time of his attendance, the university was a premier legal training hub for East African lawyers.

Between 2015 and 2017, he obtained an MA in Peace Studies and International Relations from Hekima, with his research thesis focusing on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and intergovernmental disputes in Kenya. 

Following his undergraduate degree, he completed his professional training to be admitted to the Kenyan bar and eventually served as a State Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers before entering private practice in 1980.

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators – Gathenji is an active member of this professional body, reflecting his academic and practical expertise in arbitration and conflict resolution. 

Mbuthi Gathenji Career

He began his career as a State Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers, serving as a State Attorney and gaining foundational experience in criminal prosecution and government legal procedures before moving into the private sector.

In 1980, Mbuthi established Gathenji & Co. Advocates, a firm that has grown over the past four decades into a powerhouse in Commercial Litigation and the handling of complex corporate disputes.

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The senior counsel has been utilizing his expertise as a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and managing high-value estate disputes in Succession and Family Law.

Achievements

Mbuthi Gathenji earned national acclaim for his work on Public Interest Litigation and is most famous for his role in the Father John Kaiser Inquest, where he represented the family of the murdered American priest and the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops.

His persistence helped overturn the initial government narrative of suicide and eventually led to a 2007 court ruling that Father Kaiser was murdered.

In 2022, he reached the pinnacle of the Kenyan legal profession when he was conferred the rank of Senior Counsel.

The senior counsel is admitted to the List of Counsel for the ICC, qualifying him to lead defense or victim representation teams in The Hague.

Currently, Gathenji is the lead lawyer for the family of Benedict Kabiru, a Kenyan officer who went missing in Haiti and has been instrumental in filing petitions against the Ministry of Interior to demand transparency, challenging the legality of the government’s communication regarding officers’ safety, and advocating for the rights of families of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.

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This post Mbuthi Gathenji: SC Who Refused to Let the Kenyan Govt Forget the Haiti Officers first appeared on The Kenya Times ~ Trending, Breaking News and Videos and is written by Immaculate Ndinda