Sir Edward Enoch Jenkins (8 February 1895 – 25 February 1960) was a British lawyer and judge. He served as

Attorney General of Fiji The Attorney-General is a political and legal officer in Fiji. The attorney-general is the chief law officer of the State, and has responsibility for supervising Fijian law and advising the government on legal matters. Like other members of th ...

from 1938 to 1945. He subsequently served as Chief Justice of Nyasaland.

Early life

Jenkins was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, on 8 February 1895 to William Jenkins and Briar Dene. He was known by his middle name. Educated initially at Howard Gardens Municipal Secondary School in Cardiff, he later studied at

University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

, also in Cardiff. Jenkins served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

with the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

during and after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1914-1920, and again in 1925). He was admitted to

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

on 16 May 1919, taking up residence in

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

on 8 October and beginning his matriculation on 21 October that year. He graduated with

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and LL.B degrees in 1922. He subsequently earned a postgraduate

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1928.

Legal career

Jenkins was called to the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

on 14 May 1924. He entered the colonial service in

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

in 1925, before becoming

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

in 1936. He then served as

from 1938 to 1945; towards the end of his term, he was appointed Chief Justice of Nyasaland on 8 November 1944. As Chief Justice, he headed a

commission of inquiry A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equiv ...

into a riot that had taken place at Zomba Prison in November 1949. He was criticised by both Sir Geoffrey Colby, the Governor of Nyasaland, and the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

, for allegedly paying undue attention to "matters of relatively minor significance" and of ignoring what they believed was the fundamental cause of the problem: the breakdown of discipline in the prison over the previous two years. Sometime before September 1953, he was appointed a Justice of Appeal on the

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

-based Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa. He sat as one of the judges on

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He played a significant role in the ...

's unsuccessful appeal against his conviction for organizing the Mau Mau movement. He was still reported as serving on the Court of Appeal as of 24 December 1954.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Enoch British colonial officials Attorneys general of the Colony of Fiji Solicitors general British Kenya judges Chief justices of Nyasaland 1895 births 1960 deaths British expatriates in Fiji Members of Gray's Inn Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Alumni of Cardiff University 20th-century Welsh lawyers East African Court of Appeal judges British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery officers