By Nyang’au Araka
For decades, Dr John M. Khaminwa has been a distinctive presence in Kenya’s courtrooms.
He is an advocate whose name has become familiar to generations of lawyers, litigants and observers of the country’s legal affairs.
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Known for his courtroom advocacy and long career at the Bar, Khaminwa has represented clients in some of Kenya’s most closely watched legal battles.
But as he marked his 90th birthday, the veteran lawyer chose to look beyond the courtroom and reflect on the people and places that shaped him.
In a personal birthday message, Khaminwa began with gratitude for the one thing he considers particularly important at his age — good health.
“Today is my Happy Birthday. I am now 90 years old. I thank the Almighty God, I thank him for his blessings of good health,” he wrote.
Born on September 10, 1936, in Masiyenze, a Quaker village at the foot of Kimingini Hill in Kakamega, Khaminwa grew up in a family where education was taken seriously.
His father, Ralph Shihemі Asiabugwa Khaminwa, was a teacher educated at Kaimosi Missionary School. He did more than encourage his son to learn; he personally taught him reading, writing and arithmetic at home.
“I take this opportunity to thank my late father Ralph Shihemі Asiabugwa Khaminwa educated at Kaimosi Missionary School and personally took the trouble to teach me reading, writing and arithmetic in my early years at home,” Khaminwa recalled.
His mother, Rasoah Muhonjiа Khaminwa, was born and raised in Maragoli. Khaminwa fondly remembers how she would jokingly remind him that she was Maragoli, rather than Kakamega like his father.
He also paid tribute to the teachers who guided him through his early education at Masiyenze, Makhokho, Musingu and Kakamega before he proceeded to Government African School Kakamega, as it was known during the colonial era, and later Alliance High School, Kikuyu.
His birthday message is also a roll call of family members who accompanied him through different chapters of his life.
He remembers his late brothers Japheth, Reuben, Thomas, Mujidi, Major and Charles Ford, and his sisters Khagasa and Judith Eramoga. His surviving siblings are David Muyembe, James Aluvale and Beatrice Ijereha.
Khaminwa remembers his late wife, Lady Joyce, from Nyeri Kiamaliga, whom he describes as “a wonderful wife whose company and love I continue to miss.”
He remains grateful for the company of his children, Anne, Arthur and Angela.
“I thank the Almighty God that I continue to enjoy the company of Anne, Arthur, and Angela as my children. I love them and I know they love me,” he wrote.
Khaminwa’s academic journey eventually took him into an illustrious legal career.
He holds an LL.B from the University of London, an LL.M in International Law from New York University, an LL.D from Haverford and a Doctor of Divinity from International University California.
He is an advocate of the High Courts of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
At 90, the lawyer who has spent much of his life arguing cases before judges has turned his attention, at least briefly, from the courtroom to the rear-view mirror.
