Justice Mumbi Ngugi has been named the judge of the year by Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Center for International Human Rights (CIHR).
A statement from the law school indicated that the celebrated anti-corruption court judge was set to be given the award during a webinar on Tuesday, February 2.
She was honoured for her life-long commitment to human rights, marginalized populations, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The statement further indicated that the judge was to be interviewed by her friend the Honorable Ann Williams, retired U.S. Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Ngugi serves in the Anti-corruption and Economic Crimes Division of the High Court and was awarded the fifth Global Jurist of the Year Award by the institution located in Illinois US.
The Global Jurist of the Year Award is designed to honor a sitting judge, whether in an international or national court, who has demonstrated in his or her career courage in the face of adversity to uphold and defend fundamental human rights or the principles of international criminal justice.
Jurists from all nations and tribunals are eligible for consideration.
“It is important that we bring to our University community distinguished practitioners and scholars who not only speak and write but those who courageously work to implement human rights on the front lines.
“Without them, little progress would be made in implementing human rights protections. She is a role model for our faculty and for students who aspire to be future Justice Ngugis," stated Thomas F. Geraghty, interim director of CIHR.
Prior to her current position, Ngugi served as the Presiding Judge at the High Court of Kenya in Kericho and in the Constitutional and Human Rights Division in Nairobi.
In the last nine years, she has been involved in the emerging human rights jurisprudence in Kenya, particularly in relation to the social-economic rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
Justice Ngugi is also a member of the Africa Regional Judges Forum (ARJF) on HIV-AIDS and chairs the ARJF Steering Committee on Judicial Education.
She has previously received the 2013 International Commission of Jurists-Kenya Jurist of the Year Award, the Brand Kenya Ambassador Award in 2013, the Law Society of Kenya Distinguished Service Award 2017, the C.B. Madan Award 2018 and the Transparency International Judicial Integrity Award 2019.
