By Princewill Ubani · Published · Updated
Research ID: PA-ART-kitili-mwendwa-first-african-chief-justice-kenya
Kitili Mwendwa Became Kenya's First African Chief Justice at 38
Kitili Maluki Mwendwa was sworn in as Kenya’s first African Chief Justice in July 1968, at age 38. Born December 24, 1929, he would not turn 39 until five months later, with President Jomo Kenyatta presiding over the ceremony and Attorney General Charles Njonjo in attendance. A native of Kitui, Mwendwa had trained in England, earning a law degree from Exeter University and a master’s in law from Oxford before being called to the bar as a barrister of Lincoln’s Inn.
His rise through Kenya’s newly independent civil service had been rapid. He became a permanent secretary in 1963, the year of independence, and solicitor general the following year, positions that put him at the center of building the young republic’s legal institutions before he had spent any time practicing as a courtroom lawyer or sitting as a judge. His appointment to the country’s top judicial post four years after independence marked a symbolic break from a judiciary that had, until then, been staffed at its highest levels by British and other foreign-born judges.
Mwendwa’s tenure lasted only three years. In 1971, Kenyan authorities uncovered an alleged plot to overthrow Kenyatta’s government, and Mwendwa was implicated in it. He resigned as Chief Justice that year and was succeeded by Sir James Wicks, a return to foreign leadership of the court less than a decade after independence.
Mwendwa later returned to public life, working in private business before winning election to Parliament as the member for Kitui Central. He died in a road accident on September 27, 1985.
Correction
Kitili Mwendwa was 38, not 39, when he became Chief Justice.The headline, summary, fact card and body all said Mwendwa was 39 when he became Kenya's first African Chief Justice in July 1968, following a Standard Media headline making the same claim. He was born December 24, 1929, so he was 38 that July, five months short of his 39th birthday. Corrected throughout the article.Corrected in September 2026. See the log entry.
Sources
- “Chief Justices”, Judiciary of Kenya.
- “Kitili Mwendwa: First Kenyan Chief Justice at 39”, The Standard.