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Lady Justice Wilfrida Okwany Background, Education, Career & Major Rulings

Lady Justice Okwany Wilfrida Adhiambo Osodo is a Judge of the High Court.

Justice Okwany has in the recent years ruled on high profile cases in the country.

Background & Education

According to a May 14, 2015 article by Citizen Digital, Justice Okwany is 54 years old. This means she was born at around 1967.

She attended Lwak Girls High School, Siaya County for her ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels.

Lady Justice Okwany holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi. She also holds a Masters in Business Administration from the same institution.

She has a Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.

Bar Admission

The judge was admitted to the Bar in 1992.

Career

Justice Okwany boasts a career in law spanning over 25 years. She began her career with J. Ogada & Company Advocates in 1992.

Between 1993 and 1997, she worked for Khan & Saisi Advocates. She later departed to start her own firm.

Justice Okwany was the Managing Partner, Wilfrida A. Osodo & Company Advocates from 1997 to 2015.

Lady Justice Wilfrida Okwany Background, Education, Career & Major Rulings
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Lady Justice Wilfrida Okwany on May 14, 2015. |Courtesy| Citizen Digital|

High Court

Justice Okwany was appointed as judge of the High Court on May 14, 2015.

She has served in various divisions of the High Court. These include; Constitution and Human Rights, Commercial and Tax division, among others.

Justice Okwany first seved at the Kisii High Court, and later transferred to Nairobi.

Major Rulings

In the course of her career, Justice Okwany has deliberated on a number of high profile cases.

She was among a three judge bench that ruled on a petition against the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The petition sought to stop JSC from nominating a chief justice in April, 2021.

The bench halted JSC from making further deliberations but allowed the interviews to proceed. They later ruled in favour of JSC.

Justice Okwany was also among the judge’s bench that ruled on the ouster of former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko. Sonko had moved to court challenging the nomination, vetting and swearing in of Anne Kananu as deputy governor.

Sonko had argued that he revoked her nomination prior to his ouster, terming her nomination illegal.

The judges, however, ruled that Kananu’s nomination was legal. They stated that Sonko failed to follow the proper channels in revoking her nomination.