From Teaching to Supreme Court Judge: Witty Smokin Wanjala Profile
Supreme Court Justice Smokin Wanjala again drew attention with his clever remarks that elicited laughs during the presidential petition.
Kenyans are accustomed to his engaging charisma, which he also displayed during the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) appeal in March 2022 and the presidential petitions in 2013 and 2017.
During the 2022 presidential petitions contesting the election of President-elect William Ruto, Wanjala provided a considerable reprieve from the heated hearings by illuminating the courtroom with humorous moments.
His colleagues, petitioners, and responders burst into laughter in response to his Solomonic Wisdom comparison, in which he remarked that Ruto’s attorney, Kioko Kilukumi, was eager to persuade his client to renounce his victory.
In his courtroom arguments, Kilukumi cited King Solomon’s ruling in a case involving two women claiming possession of a newborn baby.
“In King Solomon’s story, one of the mother claimants was saying ‘cut the baby’ and other one said ‘no, let her take the baby’. Would you be willing to advise…? I rest my case,” Justice Wanjala stated
Justice Smokin Wanjala’s Profile
Wanjala was appointed to the supreme court in 2011 by the late President Mwai Kibaki, along with judges Mohamed Ibrahim and Njoki Ndung’u.
Wanjala has been a lecturer at the University of Nairobi (UoN) School of Law for nearly two decades, which is unknown to many.
Prior to his appointment as one of the directors of the former Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), now known as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, he left the teaching profession in 2004. (EACC).
His educational background contributed to his appointment as director of the Kenya Judiciary Academy (KJA), which is responsible for training the country’s judges and judicial employees.
In addition, he has held office as a judicial representative to the Council of Legal Education since 2019.
In addition to his illustrious career in education, the judge is a renowned academician and possesses a Doctor of Law from the University of Ghent in Belgium.
His Supreme Court bio states, “Justice Wanjala holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B, Hons.) from the University of Nairobi, a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law, and a Master of Laws (LL.M) from Columbia University, New York.”
Wanjala has served in several judicial organizations credited for advancing the country’s political and social reforms and the Supreme Court.
Specifically, he worked with the Centre for Law and Research International (CLARION), the organization that pioneered civil education in the nation.
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The Judiciary website claims, “He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Columbia Global Centers – Nairobi, Kenya, one of the nine World-Wide Regional hubs established by Columbia University to encourage research and collaboration for the benefit of humanity.”
His paintings have earned him praise over the years. Wanjala has the Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS), which President Kibaki bestowed upon him in 2012.
From Teaching to Supreme Court Judge: Witty Smokin Wanjala Profile
