Smokin Wanjala is a Kenyan lawyer and a

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

of the

Supreme Court of Kenya The Supreme Court of Kenya is the Supreme court, highest court in Kenya. It is established under Article 163 of the new constitution of Kenya, Kenyan Constitution 2010 As the highest court in the nation, its decisions are binding and set precede ...

. He holds a Ph.D. in law from the

University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, Belgium. He also holds a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree from the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in the United States and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LLB) degree from the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

. Wanjala lectured at the University of Nairobi for 15 years, teaching international law, international human rights law, land law and criminal law.

Anti-corruption work

Wanjala served as a deputy director in charge of prevention of the now defunct

Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) was established in April 2003 to replace the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority after Parliament enacted new legislation. Legal framework The legislation enacted to establish the commission was: * The An ...

. He was appointed to the position on 9 September 2004 for a period of five years and was responsible for Research, Policy and Preventive Service. He resigned on 18 September 2009 due to public outcry following the irregular reappointment alongside his boss

Aaron Ringera Aaron Gitonga Ringera (born 20 June 1950) is a Kenyan lawyer who served as a judge and as the former director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC). He was born in Githongo, Meru, Kenya, Meru. Education and early career Ringera has ...

and fellow deputy director Fatuma Sichale by President

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013. He served in various leadership positions in Kenya's government including ...

. Wanjala regularly lectured at the

International Anti-Corruption Academy The International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) is an international intergovernmental organization based in Laxenburg, Austria, that teaches government officials and professionals about anti-corruption measures. Membership to the organization i ...

(IACA) in

Laxenburg __NOTOC__ Laxenburg (Central Bavarian: ''Laxnbuag'') is a market town in the district of Mödling, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Located about south of the Austrian capital Vienna, it is chiefly known for the Laxenburg castles, which, be ...

, Austria.

Appointment to the Supreme Court

In June 2012, he was among five justices nominated to the inaugural bench of the

by the

Judicial Service Commission (Kenya) The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of Kenya is an independent Commission established under Article 171 of the Constitution of Kenya. Its mandate as stipulated in Article 172 of the Constitution is to promote and facilitate the independence an ...

which had interviewed 25 applicants.

Supreme Court career

When the first round of the presidential election took place on March 4, 2013, it resulted in the two frontrunners, Uhuru of Jubilee and Raila of CORD, clinching 50.6% and 43.7% of the vote respectively.

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta ( born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Prime Minister of Kenya, Deputy Pri ...

was declared the

president-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Un ...

of Kenya by the

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in the year 2011 through the making of the Constitution of Kenya. The Commission is responsible for conducting or supervising referen ...

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He was the Member of Parliament (Kenya), Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata Constituency from 1992 to 2013 and has ...

challenged this in the

. Wanjala was one of the six judges who dismissed the petition on March 30, 2013. The highly awaited verdict, given amid great tension in the country, was rendered in favour of Uhuru Kenyatta and was unanimous. In September 2017, he was one of four judges who voted to nullify President Uhuru Kenyatta's win in the August 2017 presidential election. On September 5, he was one of the judges of the Supreme Court Of Kenya to uphold the election of Dr. William Samoei Ruto as the president-elect of Kenya where Raila (the Petitioner) was against his win.

Bibliography

* ''The Anatomy of Corruption in Kenya: Legal, Political and Socio-economic Perspectives'' ()

References

Living people 20th-century Kenyan lawyers 21st-century Kenyan judges 1960 births {{Kenya-law-bio-stub

Anti-corruption work

Appointment to the Supreme Court

Supreme Court career

Bibliography

See also

References