Veteran lawyer Senior Counsel Pheroze Nowrojee is dead. His death was first publicly announced by Rarieda Member of Parliament (MP) Otiende Amollo on Saturday, April 5.
MP Amollo, while mourning the lawyer as an advocate who presented the best in court advocacy, said he was saddened by the loss.
“Quite saddened to learn that my senior, Senior Counsel Pheroze Nowrojee has passed on! A quintessential advocate who presented the best in court advocacy. Rest in power, Senior!” said Senior Counsel Amollo.
On her part, former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioner Roselyne Akombe mourned Nowrojee as a brilliant legal mind who argued his cases in court with eloquence and humor.
“As a fighter for human rights and good governance, a Pan-Africanist, a scholar and a writer, he leaves behind a rich legacy that we must emulate,” Akombe mourned the lawyer.
“I fondly remember his powerful speech in Atlanta, Georgia, where he stood firmly with the Gen Zs in their revolution. Rest in Peace, Comrade.”
Nowrojee passed on at the age of 84. Known for his exceptional contributions to Kenya’s legal community, his career exemplifies the highest standards of professionalism and ethics.
Pheroze Nowrojee profile
Besides being a human rights and constitutional lawyer, Pheroze was a writer and poet.
He is the author of Pio Gama Pinto: Patriot for Social Justice (2007), A Vote for Kenya: The Elections and the Constitution (2013), A Kenyan Journey (2014), and Conserving the Intangible (2015).
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Born in Nairobi, Pheroze was called as a Barrister at Lincoln’s Inn in 1965 before becoming an advocate of the High Court of Kenya in 1967. He later enrolled as an advocate in Tanzania in 1970 and Zanzibar in 1989.
The Senior Counsel has also appeared in the High Courts of Uganda and the Seychelles.
He schooled at Catholic Parochial Primary School in Nairobi before proceeding to Billimorja High School in Panchgani, Maharashtra, India.
Later, the veteran lawyer in 1957 studied in Bombay University in India before proceeding to Yale Law School in the United States to study a Master of Laws (LL.M) in 1974.
Awards and recognition
Pherozee’s awards include the International Commission of Jurists (Kenya) ICJ Jurist of the Year (1995), and the International Bar Association (IBA) Bernard Simons Human Rights Prize (2002-2004).
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The author has also won the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Roll of Honour (2005), the Maasai People Safeguarding Rights Award, (2007), and the CB Madan Constitution Prize (2014).
In addition, he has been awarded the Bharatiya Pravasi Samman Award (2007) by India.
Nowrojee has given the South Asian Studies Council’s Annual Gandhi Lecture at Yale University (2017).
The lawyer is also a BBC Africa Poetry Competition Prizewinner (2001).
His family has been a part of the diaspora since 1896.
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