Khaminwa, the Lady Justice who never feared confrontation, takes a final bow

Joyce Nuku Khaminwa never shied away from confrontation and would readily take on anyone she felt was offending and irrational. To many of her colleagues in the legal profession, that defined her character and they learned to live with it.

Her striking character perhaps best played out on May 23 when she took her employer – the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) – to court for seeking to retire her from service.

She challenged a notice served upon her by the JSC to quit office on June 3 upon attaining the age of 70 years instead of 74 as per the previous Constitution that was in force when she joined the Judiciary.

While she eventually lost the battle alongside 10 other judges, the fight will no doubt be used as a reference in future cases as it helped clear the confusion brought about by the transition into the new Constitution.

Even as the JSC opted to retire Justice Khaminwa, it was noted that her integrity as a judge was not in question and that she had greatly contributed to the progression of justice throughout her tenure.

“She is a feisty and brave individual. After having given illustrious service for many years, the time has come for the judge to call it a day. It is not enough that her spirit be willing, however commendable her record,” the JSC said in its report.

Justice Khaminwa handled several landmark cases that made her one of the most respected judges in Kenya. She spent the last 11 years serving as a High Court judge. In 2009 she handled a case in which an inventor was seeking to stop mobile telephony giant Safaricom from implementing the technology that would allow the M-Pesa service to accept dollar transfers.

She, on that occasion, ruled that the High Court had no jurisdiction to handle the Christopher Ondieki suit against Safaricom until the Industrial Property Tribunal heard the matter.

Prior to being appointed a High Court judge, Justice Khaminwa served as a Commissioner of Assize from 1999 to 2003. During her service, she is most remembered for ordering the government to release a report on the ethnic clashes that had hit parts of the country since 1991.

The Akiwumi Report had been kept a government secret since its completion in 1999, until Justice Khaminwa ordered then Attorney-General Amos Wako to pick the report from then President Daniel Moi and hand it to a victim of the 1997 Likoni violence who had sued the State seeking its release.

An alumnus of Alliance Girls' High School, Justice Khaminwa made her name as a lawyer in the 1990s when she represented several political detainees during the reign of retired President Moi.

Her efforts saw her live largely under police scrutiny until the end of the Moi era, something that was also fuelled by the fact that her husband had also been a detainee.

While still practising in Mombasa, Justice Khaminwa was feted by the Law Society of Kenya for her dedicated service.

The judge succumbed to illness on December 1 at the Nairobi Hospital where she had been undergoing treatment.

Her on-and-off battle with poor health saw her take a break from late 2010 to early 2012 to seek treatment, and she had appeared to be back on track before she succumbed at the beginning of this month.

She was married to veteran lawyer John Khaminwa for 48 years, and leaves behind four children –Arthur, Albert, Anne and Anjela – who blessed her with three grandchildren.

She was born on January 8, 1943, was appointed as a Commissioner of Assize on May 26, 1999 and became a High Court judge on May 22, 2003.

Mr Khaminwa told the Press following his wife’s demise that she had been showing signs of improvement over the last few weeks and that he was shocked to find that she had passed on when he got to hospital on that fateful December morning.