Silas Jakakimba is an advocate of the high court and a senior partner at SES Law Advocates. Previously, he served as a senior partner at Jakakimba & Lagat Advocates for four years. He worked closely with opposition leader and former prime minister Raila Odinga before parting ways.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Background
The lawyer had very humble start in life with his family struggling to provide food and school fees.
Born John Silas Ouko, he legally changed his name to Jakakimba to pay homage to his home village Kakimba in Mbita. His mother was a fishmonger and his father, a fisherman.
When his mother died, his father, who was a polygamist, sent him and his siblings to live with relatives. He stayed with his grandmother Dorina until Grade seven. He then moved back to his home and completed his KCPE at Kakiimba Primary School.
Struggle to get an education
Despite topping his class, there was no school fees and had to go with his relative to fish. His life took a turn for the better when he met an American tourist named Seth.
They got into a conversation and impressed with his grasp of English, the tourist asked why he was not in school.
This is how Seth began paying for his high school education at Kakiimba Secondary School. The American made sure that he had everything he needed and even promised to help him enrol for medicine in either UK or USA.
University
After KCSE, he scored an A. As he was preparing to join university, he lost contact with his sponsor. His dream was to visit Nairobi and go to the University of Nairobi.
He travelled for the first time to the capital city by a hearse. Since he did not get enough points to enrol for medicine, he chose a couple of course with law as his first choice. The villagers in his hometown had to do a fundraiser for him to go to university.
After enrolling, he re-connected with Seth who was shocked to hear from him. Apparently, someone had intercepted the letters and he thought he was dead because he was not communicating.
His sponsor tried to get him to study medicine in the US but the universities required him to go to college first. He got him an admission at a community college but at the embassy, someone told him his grades were too good for a community college.
They decided he would continue with the law degree with a possibility of him studying for a second degree in medicine at the UK.
Politics and Career
While at Parklands campus, his interest in politics was stirred. He vied for the SONU chairman position and people encouraged him to use a different name and this is when he adopted the name Jakakimba. This was because his name may have denied him some votes. Later, he worked with LDP and ODM youth wings.
During this time, he became acquainted with the opposition leader who hired him as his PA. He became a life member of the ODM party until March 2023 when he tendered his resignation from the party.
He appreciated the ODM leader and wished him a long healthy life. In July, he resigned from the position of legal advisor to Homa Bay governor, Gladys Wanga. He had been serving in this position in October 2022.
Politics
After the death of Homa Bay senator Ochieng Kajwang, he threw himself into national politics wanting to replace him. However, he withdrew from the race.
Achievement
Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Law degree, he went on to become the youngest student to earn a Masters in Law at the age of 27. This accomplishment got him invited for a chat in Washington with Bill Gates. He also enrolled for PhD in International Law at the University of Witwatersrand.
Marriage
The city lawyer tied the knot to Florence in 2021. Jakakimba has three sons from a previous relationship.
