The former South African President Nelson Mandela once said a winner is a dreamer who never gives up.
The adage is true in the Court of Appeal president William Ouko's rise to the top as he is set to become the next Supreme Court judge.
The judge has risen from the lowest-ranked judicial cadre of a district magistrate to make history after being nominated by the Judicial Service Commission panel on Wednesday, May 5.
During his interviews for both the CJ and Supreme Court judge position, Ouko impressed the JSC panel over his humble yet tough stance on matters regarding judicial independence.
"I'm impressed by your humility and of course you were one of the leading candidates for the CJ position and you have taken it in stride and a lot of humility," JSC commissioner Macharia Njeru stated.
Ouko is one of the longest-serving judicial officers having amassed over 33 years of legal experience within the judiciary. He was admitted to the roll of advocates in 1987. He had a short stint at the Msagha and Company Advocates before joining the judiciary as a district magistrate.
The judge rose through the ranks and became Deputy Registrar of the High Court in 1989. In 1997, he held the position of Judiciary's chief court administrator before becoming the registrar of the High Court.
Ouko's quantum leap came in 2004 when he was appointed as a judge of the High court by former President Mwai Kibaki and subsequently to the Court of Appeal in 2012.
In 2018, he was elected as president of the Court of Appeal to succeed justice Kihara Kariuki, the current Attorney General.
In the recent past, Ouko has been vocal about President Uhuru Kenyatta's bid to appoint 41 judges, ten of which were nominated to the Court of Appeal.
He is also renowned for putting to task the Executive for cutting down the Judiciary budget. In his past interviews, Ouko has always been at the frontline advocating for the judiciary and pointing out the negative perception towards them.
“Politicians and people will always talk but the way we do our work is very different. We are deaf, we never hear them. We are blind, we never see them. But we work with what is presented before the court,” said Ouko.
Ouko also holds a Masters of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Egerton University.
