Deputy President William Ruto's realised his dream of succeeding his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, after he was sworn in on Tuesday, September 13 at Kasarani Stadium.
Before becoming the country's second most powerful individual, Ruto held several elective and appointive positions including that of a member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister.
With such powerful positions, it calls for one to surround themselves with persons who will advise them and safeguard their interests. one such person in Ruto's inner circle is Abraham Korir Sing'oei.
Sing'oei was among the leaders who advised the president while he was signing his first Executive Order - the appointment of six judges his predecessor had declined to promote.
A lawyer by profession, Sing'oei is the Legal Advisor at the Office of the Deputy President.
Sing'oei - a former Moi High School Kabarak student - keeps a low profile but has steadily risen in his career to become one of Ruto's most trusted allies.
An advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a senior partner at Sing’oei, Murkomen and Sigei (SMS) Advocates, he is a renowned human rights lawyer who has handled cases both locally and internationally.
Sing'oei - who studied law and global policy at the University of Nairobi and graduated with a Bachelor of Law in 1998 and proceeded to Kenya School of Law and obtained a Diploma in legal practice in 1999, also holds a Master of Laws in Comparative Human Rights Systems degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
In 2005, Sing’oei attained a Master of Laws degree in International Law and Economics from the University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis MN,US. He also attended the Tilburg Law School in the Netherlands.
Relatively unknown to many despite an illustrious career, Sing’oei is the Legal Advisor at the Executive Office of the President, where he is also the head of law and policy, and convener of the open government partnership in Kenya.
Previously, he served as the Litigation Director, Katiba Institute, Rule of Law Specialist at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the founding director at the Centre for Minority Rights Development.
Interestingly, he has also served as an advocate for Human Rights in Minneapolis and at the Center for Justice and International Law in Washington DC.
Sing’oei has handled high profile cases at the Hague, Netherlands.
He was one of the lawyers who represented Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC) when the DP was facing charges of crimes against humanity.
During the case, he lobbied for a fair, consistent and non-politicized international criminal justice system.
Currently, he is charged with the responsibility of handling Ruto’s political and legal affairs alongside Katwa Kigen.
He is currently the Chief Draft Person for the Ministry of Lands Task Force on Community Land. He is also the Devolution Committee of the Presidential Task Force on Parastatal Reforms.
He has researched and published numerous academic papers and policy documents on various legal matters.
The experienced lawyer has won various cases among them the first indigenous rights case in 2010 before the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights where he represented the Endorois community.
