Paul Muite is among the most prominent lawyers, having served the country in the legal and political spheres since Daniel Arap Moi's era. He is a prominent figure in Kenya’s second liberation struggle for multipartyism during the 1990s. He also served as the chairman of the Law Society of Kenya at some point.
Here are 5 things you should know about Paul Muite:
Served as a law clerk before Kenya's Independence
Paul Muite served as a law clerk in the years preceding Kenya’s attainment of independence.
Served as Ford-Kenya chairman
Muite also served as vice chairman of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy – Kenya while under Oginga Odinga's tutelage. While fighting for multipartyism alongside Oginga and other second liberation fighters, muite was an ‘internal refugee’ between 1988 and 1989, when he could not leave the country because the government had retained his passport.
Paul Muite is the founding chairman of the Safina Party
Muite is the founding chairman of the Safina party of Kenya alongside palaeoanthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey in 1995. The Safina party was routinely harassed and even its application to become an official political party was not approved until 1997.
In the legislative elections on 27 December 2007, the party won five out of 210 elected seats.
Served as the MP for Kabete
Muite has served several terms in the National Assembly of Kenya as a member of Parliament for Kabete Constituency before it was split into two, Kabete and Kikuyu constituencies. During his period as a member of parliament, he served as Chair of the key Parliamentary Committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs and Chair of Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs.
Awards
In 2015, Paul Muite was awarded the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Kenya’s Jurist of the year.
He was recognised for having distinguished himself as a courageous defender of the Bill of Rights and having contributed to the development of laws that gave birth to the new constitutional order in Kenya.
“His court victories are legion, his political contribution substantial but the cases he argues profile style, commitment and courage. It is this moral clarity that would trigger a swelling of ranks at ICJ Kenya chapter and signal a defining moment in the country’s transition to democratisation. ICJ Kenya salutes his career and hopes to bring attention to the value of the courage, boldness and expertise that he abundantly epitomises,” ICJ said.
