President Uhuru Kenyatta's former advisor, Abdikadir Mohammed has been drafted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as part of its legal team that will handle the presidential election petition at the Supreme Court.
Mohamed, who served as Uhuru's Constitutional and Legal Affairs advisor will be defending the IEBC against issues raised by Azimio leader Raila Odinga who seeks to convince the apex court to invalidate president-elect William Ruto's win.
Unknown to many, the lawyer is a well read and Harvard schooled Kenyan, and a member of of the prestigious Senior Counsels Club. Kenyans.co.ke looks at the former MP's enviable profile:
Abdikadir is a Senior Counsel, a rank he was conferred to by the outgoing Head of State in 2020. He was feted alongside prominent practitioners in the legal profession including Azimio running mate Martha Karua and Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
A son of the soil, he obtained his training locally. After completing his O-Level education at the Alliance High School, he gained admission to the University of Nairobi for his undergraduate law degree.
He then attended the Kenya School of Law for his post-graduate diploma, which earned him admission to the bar as an advocate of the High Court.
The advocate left the country for the United States of America, where he attended the prestigious Harvard Law School for his Masters' degree.
Mohammed returned to the country for his practice. He partnered with fellow advocate, now Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi to establish a law firm - Ahmednassir, Abdikadir & Company Advocates.
His first stab at elective politics was in the 2007 General Election where he ran for the Mandera Central constituency Parliamentary seat. Contesting under a Safina party ticket, he floored then then incumbent Billow Kerrow in the polls.
Abdikadir went on to serve in various house committees including the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) which he chaired.
He also was a member of the Justice and Constitutional Affairs committee. However, after serving just one term in office, he announced his retirement from active politics - becoming among the first to do so.
Uhuru appointed him as his legal advisory team, where he worked with former Attorney-General, Githu Muigai. The former MP made headlines again in 2018 when he turned down an ambassadorial job.
Mohammed had been nominated by the Head of State to become Kenya's ambassador to South Korea. Notably, he politely turned down the offer citing personal reasons.
